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Battery Causing Serious Bodily Injury - California Penal Code Section 243(d)

Battery Causing Serious Bodily Injury - California Penal Code 243(d) PC
PC 243(d) aggravated battery law makes it a crime strike some in a harmful manner causing them to suffer a serious bodily injury.

A battery that causes serious bodily injury is commonly known as “aggravated battery” and is covered under California Penal Code Section 243(d).

Battery means you willfully touched another person in an offensive or harmful manner. In simple terms, aggravated battery means you committed a battery offense that caused some type of serious bodily injury to the victim.

So, what is considered a “serious bodily injury?” It's a significant injury, such as a broken bone or concussion.

The underlying criminal offense is a simple battery, which is described under California Penal Code Section 242, which says the battery is any unlawful use of force or violence on another person.

Substantial injury to the victim would be required to be charged with Penal Code 243(d). Therefore, the primary difference between simple battery and aggravated battery is the level of injuries sustained by the victim.

A common example is Los Angeles County includes a situation where two men get into a fight at a bar. During the struggle, one man pushes the other, causing him to fall and break his arm. Since a broken bone is considered a serious bodily injury, the man could face criminal charges of aggravated battery.

Any conviction for battery could have a substantial impact on your personal and professional life. California Penal Code Section 243(d), formally known as "battery causing serious bodily injury", is a “wobbler.”

This means the prosecutor has the discretion to file the case as either a misdemeanor or felony. They will normally base their decision on the specific facts and circumstances of the case and your criminal history.

Typically, prosecutors will aggressively pursue aggravated battery cases, and you could face serious jail time, fines, and restitution to the victim. If you have been accused of battery causing serious bodily injury, you need to consult with a Los Angeles criminal defense lawyer at Eisner Gorin LLP immediately.

Do not answer any questions from police detectives, as you might make incriminating statements that will be used against you later.

Our law firm may be able to negotiate a lesser charge or have the case dismissed.

Now that we have covered a basic overview of aggravated battery let's take a more detailed look at the legal definition, penalties, legal defenses, and related crimes below.

Legal Definition of Aggravated Battery

California Penal Code Section 243(d) describes the crime of battery that causes serious bodily injury as follows: 

  • (d) When the battery is committed against another person and serious bodily injury is inflicted, it's punishable by imprisonment in a county jail for up to one year or pursuant to Penal Code Section 1170 for two, three, or four years.

As stated above, a “battery” is the willful touching of another person that is offensive or harmful. Clearly, touching requires physical contact, including even slight touching. Willfully simply means on purpose.

It's important to note here that battery causing serious injury doesn't require that you had intent to cause injury to the victim. You only need to have intent to touch them in an offensive or harmful way. This means any “touching” that is angry, violent, or disrespectful.

In order to be convicted of violating California Penal Code Section 243(d), aggravated battery, the Los Angeles County prosecutor must be able to prove the following elements of the crime:  

  • You willfully touched another person in a harmful or offensive manner
  • As a result, the victim sustained a serious bodily injury
  • You were not acting in self-defense

As you can clearly see in this legal definition above, the primary element of the crime of battery causing serious bodily injury is the legal requirement the victim actually suffered a “serious bodily injury." Let's take a closer look at how it's defined below.

California Penal Code 243.9 PC specifically addresses the behavior of "gassing," in which a jail detainee throws bodily waste at one of these officers or employees. Simply put, PC 243.9 makes battery by gassing in a detention center a crime, which is an act of aggravated battery and can result in additional criminal charges.

Call a Los Angeles criminal defense lawyer at our office for more detailed information.

What is a Serious Bodily Injury?

Quite simply, a serious bodily injury requires more than a minor injury. It does not require that the victim had to seek medical treatment. Under legal terms, a “serious bodily injury” is defined as a serious impairment of another person's physical condition.

The degree of injury will vary as its fact specific. Some common types of serious bodily injuries include the following: 

  • Broken bones or fractures
  • Wound that requires stitches
  • Stabbing
  • Disfigurement
  • Concussion
  • Impairment of organ function
  • Loss of consciousness

Physical injuries considered serious are not limited to this list above. Whether an injury is actually serious is typically decided on a case-by-case basis. Therefore, it's important to contact one of our Los Angeles criminal lawyers to review the specific details of your case.  

Aggravated Battery Legal Penalties

As stated above, a violation of California Penal Code Section 243(d), battery causing serious bodily injury, is commonly known in Los Angeles criminal courthouses as a “wobbler” offense. This gives the prosecutor the discretion to charge your case as either a misdemeanor or felony crime.

How do prosecutors decide?

Typically, it's based on the severity of the victim's injury and your criminal record. If you are convicted of a misdemeanor case of aggravated battery, the legal penalties include: 

  • Up to one year in a Los Angeles county jail; and
  • A fine of up to $1,000
  • Misdemeanor summary probation
  • Pay restitution to the victim

If you are convicted of a felony case of aggravated battery, the legal penalties include: 

  • 2, 3, or 4 years in a California state prison
  • A fine up to $10,000
  • Felony formal probation
  • Victim restitution

Additionally, if you are convicted of a felony crime, it could be considered a "strike" under California's Three Strikes Law. This also means you will lose your legal right to own or possess a firearm in California.

Finally, if the victim sustained “great bodily injury,” meaning injuries that are more severe than a “serious bodily injury,” you could face a great bodily injury sentence enhancement.

Aggravated Battery Legal Defenses

Our Los Angeles criminal attorneys have a wide range of legal defense strategies that may be used on your behalf against charges of battery causing serious bodily injury, violating California Penal Code Section 243(d). Some of the most common defenses include the following:

Self Defense— In some situations, our criminal lawyers might be able to make a successful argument you were only acting in self defense. This means you had a reasonable belief you, or another person, was in imminent danger of suffering bodily injury, believed you had to use immediate force to protect yourself, and didn't use any more force than necessary. California law allows you to defend yourself against harm.

Battery was an accident—It may be possible to argue that you didn't touch the victim willfully, which is an element of the crime listed above. If we can show that the alleged battery was an accident, mistake, or situation beyond your control, you can probably avoid a conviction for battery causing serious bodily injury.

No serious bodily injury—Considering the legal definition of a “serious bodily injury,” we might be able to argue that the injury was only a minor one. If we are successful, the prosecutor might decide to reduce the charges to a simple misdemeanor battery in violation of California Penal Code Section 242.

False accusation—In some cases, our attorneys may be able to show that the allegations against you are false. There are situations where an alleged victim will make false allegations out of revenge, jealousy, or to gain an advantage in a child custody battle against their spouse.

Aggravated Battery Related Offenses

Under California laws, a wide variety of closely related offenses to California Penal Code Section 243(d), battery causing serious bodily injury, may be charged instead of or along with aggravated battery.

The most common include: 

It should be noted that in some situations, it might be in your best interest to negotiate any type of domestic violence charges to battery charges. For example, domestic violence offenses are considered crime that may result in deportation for undocumented immigrants. 

Contact our Criminal Defense Lawyers

A conviction for battery causing serious bodily injury can have life-altering consequences.

Therefore, if you have been accused or already arrested for violating California Penal Code Section 243(d), you should give the Los Angeles criminal defense lawyers at Eisner Gorin LLP a call. Let us review the specific details in order to develop a legal strategy to defend you. Contact us at 877-781-1570. 

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