What is personal injury due to negligence? Article 118 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation for carelessly causing damage to a person

Crimes are not always committed with malicious intent (part of the composition). Some violations of the law occur unintentionally. They are described in paragraphs of the Criminal Code (CC) of the Russian Federation along with intentional offenses. However, they have some limitations in terms of composition. Thus, the article of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation for causing harm to health by negligence is applied if the victim is seriously injured (grievous harm).

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Criminal Code of the Russian Federation of June 13, 1996 N 63-FZ

Composition of the act

The following consequences of the offense are understood as careless infliction of grievous harm to the body of the victim:

• onset: blindness;
• deafness;
• persistent mental disorder;

A feature of a criminal offense in this case is considered to be the absence of intent . That is, the criminal did not foresee (or could not do so) the grave consequences of his active actions or inaction.

Important: only a qualified specialist – a doctor – can determine the level of health loss. Hint: signs of serious damage to the body are given in Article 111 of the Criminal Code. When considering an unintentional violation of the law, they rely on them. Download for viewing and printing:

Article 111. Intentional infliction of grievous harm to health of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation

Object and Subject

The object of injury due to negligence is human health. The victim can be any individual.
The subject of a criminal act is a capable person, aged 16 years and above (paragraph 20 of the Criminal Code). Adolescents (from 16 to 18 years old) who are diagnosed with mental retardation are exempt from liability. They are not fully aware of the results of their actions.

Article 20. Age at which criminal liability of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation begins

Attention: minors are also subject to punishment for involuntarily causing grievous harm.

Objective and subjective side

When qualifying an act, the court is obliged to fully characterize the actions of the accused. For this purpose, criminology uses the characteristics of a crime. These in this case include:

1. The objective side is expressed in the act of the accused, which led to serious consequences for the victim. An action can be active (action) or passive (inaction). It is important that its result was a result leading to criminal prosecution. For example, a person decided to throw a heavy object from the balcony in order to save energy and time. He checked to see if there were any pedestrians below, but as a result the object fell on a child who suddenly ran out onto the path.
2. The subjective side is characterized by a lack of intent. An important point in the investigation is the search for evidence that the accused could have foreseen the consequences. In the case of the balcony, the person had to think about the accidental appearance of a child at the place where the load fell. A criminal act is recognized if the consequences were foreseen. That is, the criminal showed negligence or frivolity, relying on luck.

Please note: injuries caused by unforeseen circumstances are not considered a criminal offence. Such an incident is also called an incident.

Qualification

Criminal offenses are divided into ordinary and qualified . For their commission, the paragraphs of the Criminal Code provide for various punishments. The second paragraph of Article 118 contains the following qualifying feature - committed by a person performing professional duties.

Article 118. Causing grievous bodily harm by negligence of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation

Attention: while performing duties, the specialist must comply with safety requirements. An accident is evidence of negligence in relation to the requirements of labor safety standards.

For example, representatives of the following professions will be judged based on their qualifications:

• military personnel;
• civil servants;
• builders;
• manufacturers of goods and others.

Classification of crimes under Art. 118 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation

Significant damage to health is caused, and the crime is qualified under Article 118, when as a result of the incident:

• the victim loses an organ or has lost the ability to function (vision, hearing, speech);
• a severe mental disorder occurs;
• pregnancy is terminated artificially or naturally (at any stage);
• the face becomes disfigured and cannot be restored;
• drug addiction occurs;
• loss of ability to work (completely or by one third);
• the citizen is dying.

Statistics

Unfortunately, there are no reliable official statistics on this type of crime. And all because serious harm to health due to negligence is a rather hidden crime. And a considerable number of citizens simply do not turn to law enforcement agencies to hold the perpetrators accountable.

Or it happens that the harm caused to the victim is not regarded as grave or moderate , and therefore such cases are written off as administrative or civil.

Punishment

Measures of influence on a criminal guilty of unintentionally causing grievous harm are given in paragraph 118 of the Criminal Code. They are listed in the table below.

Hint: the table shows the maximum penalties.

Causing harm. Concept and types

Harm to health is the infliction of injury and damage to the victim’s body and internal organs.

Note! Unintentional damage means that the person who committed the crime did not intend in advance for any negative consequences to arise from his actions.

Criminal law divides harm into three types, depending on the degree of severity.

• Severe is a complete or partial loss of an organ, or cessation of its functioning; serious illness; facial disfigurement; termination of pregnancy, etc. In case of serious harm, the victim is deprived of the opportunity to work for a very long time or forever. Responsibility for it is provided for in special article 118 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.
• Medium severity. This degree is applied to the victim when he received injuries, dislocations, or concussions. The injured person is unable to work for some time.
• Easy. When minor injuries, abrasions occur, and the ability to work is lost for a short time.

For other degrees of severity of harm, the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation does not contain specific elements of a crime. In this regard, other laws apply. This:

1. Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation. For example, Article 12.24 is relevant if moderate or minor harm to health is caused as a result of an accident, which is a fairly common case in practice.
2. Civil Code of the Russian Federation. In the absence of a criminal offense or administrative offense, the victim can protect his rights in accordance with Chapter 59 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation by filing a civil claim in court for damages.
   If the victims present supporting documents, the court will recover monetary compensation from the culprit for injury and moral damage.
3. Civil Procedure Code of the Russian Federation , the norms of which you need to know in order to draw up and file a claim for damages in court, and participate in the case.

Mitigating and aggravating circumstances

After establishing the circumstances of the case, the investigator transfers the finished materials to the prosecutor, who prepares the paperwork for submission to the court. In his covering letter, the prosecutor indicates the desired punishment, but only within the framework of the criminal article. Next, the court decides whether the chosen preventive measure is appropriate and can change the punishment at its discretion.

The severity of the sanction will be influenced by accompanying aggravating or mitigating circumstances . Mitigating circumstances will include the following:

• voluntary compensation for harm caused;
• age of the offender (the court is more loyal to minors);
• commission of an offense due to independent circumstances;
• pregnancy of the criminal;
• the offender has young children, that is, those who have not reached the age of 14;
• provision of medical care;
• service addiction.

The worsening of the punishment will be influenced by aggravating circumstances, which are determined individually for each situation . As a general rule, this category of characteristics will include the following:

1. committing an offense while under the influence of alcohol/drugs/psychotropic intoxication;
2. causing harm by a group of persons by prior conspiracy;
3. causing harm for hooligan reasons;
4. the victim is singled out due to any kind of discrimination;
5. causing particularly grave consequences;
6. the victim is a pensioner, a minor, a pregnant woman, that is, a person who could not protect himself from an unlawful attack;
7. committed by an official in the performance of official duties.

The analysis of mitigating and aggravating circumstances is the responsibility of the chief judge. But during the pre-trial investigation, the inquiry officer/investigator is obliged to verify such facts and indicate them in the charge.

Unintentional infliction of grievous bodily harm resulting in death

If the careless actions of the offender result in death, sanctions will follow under Art. 109 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. To apply punitive measures, as in the case of serious harm to health, it is necessary to prove one of the forms of negligence, as well as a cause-and-effect relationship. According to Art. 109 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, punishment can be imposed in one of three parts:

• unintentional infliction of grievous bodily harm resulting in the death of one citizen;
• a similar act committed in the improper performance of professional duties;
• if several people died due to the careless behavior of the offender.

Note!

The law contains several special offenses that also punish death by negligence. For example, according to Art. 264 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, the driver of a car who knocked down one or more people to death will be punished.

Art. 109 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, if negligence only led to serious bodily injury, and the victim died for other reasons not related to the injuries.

Punishment under the article of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation for unintentional infliction of grievous bodily harm resulting in death

Due to the more serious consequences, death by negligence is punished much more severely. Fine under Art. 109 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation is not applied, and even the death of one person can lead to a prison sentence of up to 2 years. If the death was caused by improper performance of duties, the maximum prison period will be up to 3 years. In the event of the death of two or more victims, this period will be even longer - up to 4 years.

What to do if you are unintentionally injured?

If a citizen has suffered, in his opinion, serious harm to his health, he must immediately contact law enforcement agencies and write a statement. The statement must describe in as much detail as possible the circumstances under which his body was damaged and who was responsible for it.

The degree of damage caused is determined only as a result of a forensic examination. If an expert establishes that grievous harm was caused, then this is the basis for convicting the perpetrator under Article 118 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.

If damage is determined to be of moderate or mild severity, then the victim has a universal defense option - to file a claim in court for compensation for damage.

The culprit can prove the lack of intent in his actions with the help of:

• testimony;
• conclusion of a forensic medical examination of the victim.

Important: in order not to delay the case and quickly resolve the situation, the culprit and the victim should agree on monetary compensation for damage without involving the court.

How to prove unintentionality of actions?

To prove the unintentionality of the crime committed by the culprit, he needs to prove that, while causing damage to the health of the victim (through blows, a strong push, etc.), he did not understand the seriousness of the consequences.

This may be indicated by the domestic nature of the act. For example, during an argument that escalated into a conflict, a man pushed his pregnant wife, as a result of which she lost her unborn child.

The perpetrator had no intention to terminate her pregnancy, but due to the conflict, he could not restrain his emotions, and as a result, he caused grievous harm through negligence.

An important role in the trial will be played by the testimony of witnesses who could confirm that the damage was caused to the victim spontaneously , that the criminal did not commit any pre-prepared actions. The absence of a crime plan also indicates that it was committed unintentionally.

Civil responsibility

In addition to the penalties provided for by criminal law, the injured party has the right to bring a civil claim against the offender aimed at repaying the damage caused. Thus, you can claim compensation for the following types of damage:

• moral;
• material (must be supported by financial documents).

A civil claim is brought to court at the first hearing so that the judge has the opportunity to assess the damage caused and award or cancel compensation.

Prosecution for unintentional harm occurs because, despite the lack of desire to cause unlawful consequences, a person could realize that he was committing a crime and could stop it in advance. It does not matter whether the violator’s actions are careless or frivolous.