Signs, liability and compensation for causing harm to health of moderate severity

Causing harm to health under certain conditions is a criminal offense - a crime.

The division of harm to health into light, moderate and severe depends on the severity of the consequences of harm caused to a person.

All of the above types of harm are subject to criminal liability.

What is causing harm of moderate severity under Article 15 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation?

In accordance with Article 15 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, crimes of medium gravity include criminal acts - intentional and careless, for which the maximum imposed punishment does not exceed 5 and 10 years, respectively.

Let us dwell in more detail on careless injury to health, as a crime that falls under this category and is very common in the structure of crime.

What is causing slight harm to health by negligence?

Infliction of slight harm by negligence - injuries received without any intent and which are not life-threatening, but cause long-term health problems or significant loss of ability to work. Careless infliction of average harm to health is regulated by Article 112 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.

Signs and medical criteria

Infliction of average harm to health includes any act that was classified as unintentional and had signs of average harm to health. Medical signs of such an act include:

• The victim's life is not in danger.
• Serious and long-term health problems (hospitalization of three weeks or more).
  Important! Sometimes the length of stay in a medical institution depends on the availability of prophylaxis and additional examination at the request of the client. In such a situation, the time spent on such measures is not taken into account.
• Absence of such consequences: loss of limbs, more than 30% disability, fetus if the victim was carrying a child, irreparable facial disfigurement, psychological health problems.

Read more in our materials:

1. Criteria for average health harm.
2. Signs of moderate harm to health.

We also talked about health criteria here, and about mental health criteria here.

Signs of moderate harm to health

Let's consider the medical criteria for qualifying signs of harm to health, established by law.

Qualifying features

The definition of harm of moderate severity contains two qualifying criteria, if one of them is present, the fact of its infliction will be established.

1. Significant loss of total ability to work is less than one third - from 10 to 30 percent .
2. The functions of organs or body systems are temporarily impaired (expressed in disability) for more than 3 weeks - 21 days .

Medical criteria for establishing

The criteria relating to the damage in question are:

• bone fractures that are not life-threatening (for example, fractures of the upper jaw, ribs, arms, etc.);
• various injuries to soft tissues and internal organs within the limits of the above symptoms (kidney bruise, hearing loss, vision loss and its recovery within acceptable time limits);
• deprivation of fingers and toes within the limits of disability - from 10 to 30% (one to two fingers);
• concussion, again taking into account signs of restoration of ability to work (up to 3 weeks - mild, over - moderate harm).

The listed criteria are indicative and can only be accurately determined by a professional doctor - a forensic expert. No other counselor or “expert” can give you the correct diagnosis.

The document defining the medical criteria for the above signs of harm is Order No. 194 of the Ministry of Health and Social Development of the Russian Federation dated April 24, 2008, issued on the basis of Resolution No. 522 of 2007.

To obtain an accurate diagnosis in the form of a forensic medical examination report, it is imperative and timely to contact a medical institution.

What qualifies as moderate beating?

Moderate severity is characterized by:

• complete incapacitation of the victim for a short period of time;
• or persistent but minor health impairment;
• loss of working capacity of less than one third;
• no danger to life.

Visible health problems of the person who received the blows may include the following types of injuries, confirmed during examination by a forensic expert:

1. concussions;
2. fractures of the nose or jaws;
3. limb fractures;
4. rib fractures, if internal organs are not affected;
5. extensive hematomas on the surface of the skin;
6. joint dislocations;
7. bites, cuts and other damage to the surface of the skin.

When qualifying this crime, the absence of a threat to the life of the victim, as well as the reversibility of the health consequences, are taken into account. Internal organs should not be affected here; all violations should involve complete rehabilitation of the victim. For intentionally inflicted cuts, burns, etc. in the facial area, the liability is aggravated in comparison with injury to closed areas of the body.

If damage of moderate severity was caused in a public place, read this material.

Violence of a husband towards his wife has its own characteristics. We talked about where and how to film a husband beating him and what the punishment would be for beating his wife. Check them out if this is your situation.

What is the penalty for causing moderate bodily harm?

The subject of crimes under Articles 112, 113, 114 of the Criminal Code, taking into account the value of such an object as human health, the legislator determined a person who has reached the age of fourteen .

Below in the table we will consider possible sanctions for all offenses of average harm to health in the Criminal Code.

It should be noted that in Articles 113 and 114, in case of passion and when the measures to detain the person who committed the crime are exceeded, liability arises in the event of causing both moderate and severe harm to health, and these offenses are also careless and this is their difference from Article 112. There is also no provision for a fine under the articles.

It is clearly seen that the legislator has determined more severe penalties for composition with an intentional form of guilt - under Article 112.

Example 1. Citizen S. and citizen E. had a fight in a restaurant after drinking alcohol over old grievances. The swearing gradually escalated into a fight and S. struck E. several times with a chair. As a result, E. was taken to the hospital with head injuries and 3 broken ribs. When E. was examined by a forensic expert at the direction of the police, the report indicated injuries corresponding to average harm to health.

A criminal case has been initiated against S. under Article 112 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation for intentionally causing harm to health of moderate severity; he faces imprisonment.

Example 2. In the family, citizen E. was a despot and constantly drank. When he drank, he beat his wife and son and abused them in every possible way. Once again, the wife, unable to bear it, inflicted several blows on E’s head and body with a garden rake. He suffered moderate harm to his health, as his hearing was temporarily lost.

Considering that E.’s wife caused him bodily harm in a state of passion, a criminal case was initiated under Article 113 of the Criminal Code.

Responsibility

As was described a little earlier, causing moderate bodily harm is not prosecuted by the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. Depending on the specific situation, the culprit will have to answer under the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, for example, paying a fine in case of an accident. The victim also has every right to sue for compensation for financial and moral damage to health.

But sometimes a person, having found himself in such a situation by coincidence, does not have the opportunity to prove that the average harm was caused by negligence. Therefore, let's look at what threatens him in this case. Punishment will be applied in accordance with Article 112 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, namely intentional infliction of harm of moderate severity, the crime is punishable from the age of fourteen. The perpetrator faces imprisonment from one to three years, correctional labor for up to 3 years, or arrest for up to six months.

Penalties for causing harm through negligence are applied as an additional punishment. As a matter of principle, they can often be applied in relation to Article 118 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. It states serious bodily injury.

There is one exception: if we are talking about damage received as a result of an accident, then punishment may follow: a fine of 10 to 25 thousand rubles or deprivation of rights for a period of one and a half to two years. This is regulated by Article 12.24 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation.

More often than not, it doesn't end up in prison. Exceptions may be situations where there are serious qualifying criteria, or the perpetrator already has a criminal record.

Reference: qualifying features are a number of reasons why a criminal may aggravate his sentence.

There are the following qualifying criteria:

• an atrocity due to which more than 2 people were injured;
• assault while performing official duties;
• if the victim was a minor and could not defend herself;
• a crime that was committed by force or humiliation;
• a criminal group consisting of several people;
• crime committed due to ordinary hooliganism;
• the villain who used the weapon;
• discrimination against religion or race.

In other cases, you face a suspended sentence or arrest.

Compensation for moderate bodily injury

Any harm caused to a person during the commission of a crime may be subject to compensation in criminal proceedings.

What damage can be compensated?

Reimbursable:

• Material damage expressed by:
• in the lack of certain lost earnings during the period of restoration of the victim’s ability to work (for example, broken bones of the arms or legs can heal for several months and all this time the person does not earn money);

costs for restoring health, which may include: the purchase of medications, transportation costs for travel to the place of treatment and possible further rehabilitation, hiring a nurse in the hospital, rehabilitation treatment (voucher to a sanatorium), restoration of broken teeth, purchase of dentures, and so on .

Any expenses incurred by the victim for which a fee was paid and which could not be provided free of charge are subject to compensation in the material component.

If you are a victim of a crime, you have suffered harm to your health, and you plan to file a lawsuit in the future for compensation for the damage caused, from the very beginning of restoring your health, try to record all the costs incurred and document them (keep receipts, tickets, travel cards, etc.). d.).

All this will need to be presented in court in the future in order to make the correct decision on compensation for damage in your favor.

Amount of compensation for damage for an average degree

Russian legislation does not have a concept or definition of the amount of compensation for damage caused.

Material damage, as already described above, is compensated within the limits of reasonable, recorded and confirmed expenses.

The court will not decide to pay compensation for meals delivered from an expensive restaurant to the victim who was undergoing treatment, because meals are required in a particular medical hospital.

But the purchase, in addition to the necessary medications, of any vitamin complexes recommended by the doctor as optional, but desirable for a speedy recovery, can be included in the list of reimbursable expenses.

The main thing is accounting, justification and documentary evidence of the expenses incurred.

The amount of compensation for moral damage is calculated from a combination of various factors such as: judicial practice prevailing in the region, the degree and direction of the defendant’s guilt, the motive of his actions, the circumstances of the committed act, the subjective opinion of the judge considering the case and others.

For example, a beating of a victim with whom they drank together in a tavern, and a beating by a group of people causing harm to the health of a bystander, will most likely be assessed differently by the court both in terms of sanctions and in terms of compensation for the same moral damage.

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Dmitry Konstantinovich

Expert of the site "Legal Consultant"

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So how much should you ask for compensation for the victim? Ask for financial compensation according to your calculations and the evidence of these calculations presented by the investigation or by you personally.

And for moral - ask for even more, and the court will decide how much they will already assign for payment.

The procedure for recovery in criminal proceedings

The procedure is enshrined in Article 44 of the Criminal Procedure Code of the Russian Federation, which states that the victim of a crime can be recognized as a civil plaintiff and demand compensation for damage caused to him by criminal actions.

The procedure for filing a claim can begin from the moment a criminal case is initiated regarding a criminal event for which damages will be compensated. In our case, when initiating cases under Articles 112, 113, 114 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.

In practice, more often than not, everything looks like this: closer to the end of the investigation of a criminal case, the inquiry officer or investigator asks the victim about his intentions to file a claim for compensation for harm and asks to provide supporting documents.

Next, a statement of claim is drawn up and the victim is recognized as a civil plaintiff by a decision of an official.

Declaring your rights to compensation for moral and material damage at the stage of preliminary investigation or inquiry has its undoubted advantages over civil proceedings:

1. The claim is drawn up in a free form, the main thing is a request to be recognized as the plaintiff and compensate for the damage.
2. There is no need to file a claim in court through civil proceedings.
3. No state duty is paid.
4. The person conducting the investigation, if the victim wishes, is obliged to take all measures to prove the claim regarding the nature of the harm and the scope of its compensation. That does not prevent the victim himself or his representative, for example, a lawyer involved in the case, from doing this.
5. In the event of a guilty verdict in a criminal case, the circumstances of the statement of claim are, as a rule, established and considered proven by a court verdict that has entered into force.

The result of actions to recover damages is consideration of the claim in court. Based on the results of the consideration of the criminal case and the claim, the judge makes one of the following decisions:

• On satisfaction of the claim (partially or completely).
• About refusal to satisfy it.
• On determining the amount of compensation in civil proceedings (the claim itself is recognized, but the amount of compensation is subsequently determined based on the civil claim).

If a verdict of acquittal is rendered, the claim may also be permanently rejected, but not always.

A claim can be abandoned at any time from the time it is filed until the end of the judicial investigation.

Claims are often abandoned in connection with certain payments to victims received from the perpetrators, which are carried out by them in order to obtain for themselves the favor of the court and the victims themselves.

Voluntary compensation for harm is a mitigating circumstance enshrined in criminal law.

Statute of limitations for bringing a criminal to justice

As has already been discussed, crimes provided for in Articles 112, 113,114 of the Criminal Code belong to the category of medium gravity.

In accordance with Article 78 of the Criminal Code, the statute of limitations for bringing criminal liability for these offenses is 6 years .

This means that a person who has committed one of these crimes cannot be prosecuted after this period has expired.

Anyone can find themselves in situations involving moderate harm to health, both as a victim and as a cause of harm.

You should not refuse competent legal assistance from a criminal lawyer if you find yourself in this situation. Take advantage of the consultation on the site for free. And in the future, if you wish, you can continue cooperation on a paid basis.

Can they be deprived of their freedom?

In case of beatings of moderate severity, the norms of criminal law are always applied. Punishment in the form of imprisonment in this case is used quite often. It can follow even in accordance with the norms of part 1 of the indicated article. In this case, it reaches three years in prison.

If you have qualifications, liability arises according to the norms of Part 2 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. Here the term of imprisonment can reach 5 years. The severity of the punishment in this case is rightfully determined by the cruelty of the person, who is of a dangerous nature to members of society.

IMPORTANT: Criminal liability for this crime begins at the age of 14 years.

In order to avoid antisocial behavior, the court provides for his isolation from society for a proportionate period.