Causing grievous bodily harm

What does the punishment depend on?

The right to a full life of citizens of the Russian Federation is enshrined in Article 20 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation, regulating guarantees of life safety. Causing harm to health jeopardizes the life support of the body, therefore it is considered a socially dangerous act, for which the perpetrator is subject to criminal punishment.

The extent of the designated liability mainly depends on the circumstances of the crime, as well as on the severity of the damage to the victim’s health. The following are generally understood as circumstances influencing the scope of imputation of liability:

Presence of deliberate intent resulting in criminal actions to cause damage to health.
Qualifying characteristics that aggravate liability for criminal actions.

Based on the criteria of this code, the differentiation of the applicable rules of law is determined, depending on the severity of the injuries and damage received by the injured person. That is, there is a direct, directly proportional relationship between the severity of the injuries inflicted and the severity of the punishment.

The greater the harm caused to the victim, the more complicated the position of the perpetrator when considering the issue of a preventive measure in court.

It is customary to distinguish three degrees of severity of harm received:

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Determination of the crime

Of all the precedents against health, the most common illegal actions are distinguished, reflecting the severity of the consequences of beatings and other injuries inflicted by the perpetrator. They are reflected in the normative positions of the Criminal Code . At the same time, a legitimate differentiation of the punishment applied to persons who caused injuries intentionally and unintentionally is required.

Intent means the intention to engage in a fight and inflict blows and other types of pain that are known to be hazardous to health. Injuries caused by an accident will cancel or significantly reduce the penalty.

Read more about the classification of health severity degrees in this article.

Mild damage to health

The normative source for applying punishment here is Article 115 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. It is used when the attacker inflicts minor intentional damage on the victim, which is characterized by:

brief but significant impairment of functioning;
a long-term but insignificant violation.

The victim’s body recovers quickly, but with the use of therapeutic assistance from a traumatologist or other specialist. Either - it recovers slowly, with medical help or on its own. When the body slowly recovers from injuries, it is taken into account that the victim can independently perform the basic functions necessary for life.

The injuries inflicted must be diagnosed during a medical examination, therefore it is necessary to apply for a certificate from a forensic medical examination within the first three days, until the traces of the beatings have disappeared. These may include:

bruises and abrasions from blows;
hematomas and bruises;
other damage to the skin;
skin cuts;
tendon strains and bruises.

IMPORTANT: For simple beatings without harm to the health of the victim, criminal or administrative liability is also provided under Articles 116 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation or 1.1.6 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation.

Moderate battery

These consequences are determined according to the regulations of Article 112 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, when the result of the beating was loss of ability to work within 30% of the general norm . For example, long-term treatment was received to recover from damage to health.

Here it is taken into account that as a result of rehabilitation no irreversible impairments to life have arisen. The victim’s performance and the functioning of all processes in his body were restored, regardless of the length of his stay in the hospital or during outpatient treatment.

Mostly, such injuries require contact with a medical institution and are determined by a forensic expert based on an extract from the medical history. These may include:

limb fractures;
injuries to the jaw, nose and knocked out teeth;
rib fractures;
deep cuts;
concussions;
extensive hematomas and multiple bruises;
violations of internal organs that need to be restored.

During the examination, other factors are taken into account, as well as their combination, confirming the harm caused. For example - bites, burns on the skin, etc.

Responsibility for such consequences also arises for unintentional harm , if the condition of the victim after the beating has become a significant obstacle to life. The standards of punishment are regulated by Article 113 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, when the beatings were inflicted in an affective state, and by Article 114 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation - in case of self-defense in excess of the permissible limits of its use.

In this material we talked about what an average degree of severity is and what punishment for this type of damage is determined by the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.

Causing grievous harm

The standards by which punishment is imposed are regulated by Article 111 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. This type of criminal act is characterized by the fact that the victim of the incident survived, but the result of physical violence was irreversible consequences for the body.

Serious harm almost always requires contacting a medical institution, which prepares documentation on the fact of the beating. Based on the medical statement, the fact of the interdependence of the damage received and the previous actions of the perpetrator is established.

That is, the resulting irreversible consequences must only be the result of a deliberate attack. These may include:

loss of limbs, or their subsequent amputation due to injuries;
breaks in the skull area, with damage to brain tissue;
other craniofacial injuries that do not allow full recovery;
severe forms of concussion;
disorders in the area of internal organs;
skin damage in the facial area;
multiple fractures;
deep stab wounds that brought a person to the brink of survival.

If the aggressor acted without intent, being in a state of passion, then the guideline for the court will be the standard of Article 113 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. In this case, the punishment is significantly reduced, in proportion to the circumstances that caused the affect, including taking into account the guilt of the victim himself.

It also takes into account the circumstances that provide for the operation of Article 114 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation . Additionally, the regulations of Article 118 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation come into force. It provides proportionate punishment for unintentional grievous harm.

If intentionally inflicted beatings in relation to the same person are of a systematic nature, it is permissible to determine the corpus delicti in accordance with the provisions of Article 117 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation - torture.

We discussed the infliction of grievous bodily harm under the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation in this section. And here our lawyers talk about liability for grievous bodily harm resulting in death.

Determination of punishment

For beating causing minor harm to health, the following punishment may apply:

fine up to 40 thousand rubles;
or in the amount of three average monthly salaries;
administrative work up to 480 hours;
correctional labor for up to 1 year;
arrest up to 4 months.

For causing intentional damage of medium gravity, the minimum penalty is:

arrest for up to six months;
forced or corrective labor – up to three years;
ban on freedom of movement – up to three years.

For serious harm to health, imprisonment terms of up to 8 years are imposed.

Liability for causing moderate harm in an accident

If the damage caused to a citizen’s health as a result of an accident is assessed as average, the culprit of the accident is held accountable under the Criminal Code.

In addition, since an accident can only be caused in case of violation of traffic rules, the culprit is also held accountable in accordance with administrative law, which implies the payment of an administrative fine.

Accordingly, the following types of sanctions will be applied to the driver officially recognized as the culprit of the traffic accident:

According to Part 2 of Art. 12.24 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation, causing moderate damage to health as a result of an accident entails punishment for the culprit in the form of an administrative fine in the amount of 10 to 20 thousand rubles or deprivation of the right to drive a vehicle for a period of 18 to 24 months;
Along with the fine, the victim can demand from the culprit of the accident payment of material compensation for rehabilitation, namely medications, courses of therapy in a private clinic, etc. The insurance company with which the culprit of the accident is registered is responsible for paying compensation. At the same time, the MTPL insurance policy also compensates for property damage caused to the injured party’s car. But the payment cannot exceed the maximum amount established by law. As of 2021, the maximum amount of compensation is 120,000 rubles in the case of one damaged car and 160,000 rubles if two cars were damaged. Accordingly, if the amount of damage exceeds these indicators, the culprit of the accident will have to pay the rest at his own expense;
Another sanction for causing damage of moderate severity is the recovery of material compensation for causing moral damage. Moral harm is psychological stress that appears as a result of an accident and has a negative impact on the victim’s daily routine;
And the last type of punishment is payment of compensation for material damage. Either the culprit of the accident must also pay it out of his own pocket, but only in cases where there is no policy, it is invalid or exceeds the insurance payment limit established by law.

Qualifying features

The preventive measure is aggravated when the unlawful act allows qualification, which arises when, in addition to deliberate intent, the crime has the following characteristics:

The crime was committed against two or more persons. Or it has a recurrent nature.
The beating was carried out by a group of attackers.
The criminal incident is motivated by inciting ideological, religious or racial hatred and discord.
Hooliganism.
Demonstration of weapons and their use, as well as improvised objects used instead of weapons to cause more serious injuries.

In the absence of qualifying criteria and the presence of mitigating circumstances, the punishment is predominantly oriented towards minimum preventive measures.

The increase in punishment for qualification may be as follows:

In case of a mild degree, the sentence can be imprisoned for up to two years.
If you are qualified for harm of moderate severity, the terms of correctional labor reach 5 years.
If qualified for grievous harm - up to 10 years, with possible subsequent restriction of freedom up to 2 years.
If health deteriorates in such a way that the victim ultimately dies, imprisonment of up to 15 years is allowed, with an additional restriction of freedom of up to 2 years.

IMPORTANT: In addition to criminal punishment, the offender may be charged with civil liability for causing material and moral harm.

Step-by-step instructions for the victim's actions

To punish the attacker, you need to immediately call a police patrol, which will assume all powers to restore justice. If it was not possible to contact the police during the beating, then the call should occur as soon as possible, after the end of the fight. The step-by-step algorithm will be as follows:

Writing a statement regarding the incident to the local police officer at the offender’s place of residence or at the scene of the incident.
Obtaining a referral for examination at the forensic medical examination bureau.
Passing an examination to determine the fact of injury and the degree of its severity.
If the case was opened on the basis of a medical statement, you can contact the police after completing outpatient treatment, with documentation from the medical institution.
Participation in judicial debates, testifying on the fact of beating in court.

Without a statement from the victim about the beating, the case will not go to court. The court also requires reliable information about the person who committed the crime.

Under certain circumstances, when contacting the police station does not seem effective to the victim, it is permissible to handle the paperwork yourself. The algorithm of actions here will be as follows:

Application for examination is subject to a fee; it is possible to apply to a commercial medical center.
Independent collection of information confirming the fact of a crime being committed by a specific person.
Evidence of the interdependence of the beatings received and the consequences in the form of harm to health of varying degrees of severity.
Finding witnesses to the incident.
Submitting a statement of claim to the court, indicating information about the perpetrator and attaching evidence.
Speaking in court against the offender.

The legal force of independently collected documentation and the case generated by the investigator is equivalent.

Read more about how to properly remove a beating.

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