Back in 2007, the Government approved a document that has very important legal significance and is constantly used in the practice of forensic experts - "Rules for determining the severity of harm caused to human health." After all, it is they that allow specialists to make the right conclusion about the nature of the severity of the injuries found on the body of the injured person. In addition, these rules establish the procedure for establishing damage to the health of citizens. Read more about this in this article.
What do you need to know about?
The rules for determining the severity of harm to health, operating throughout the territory of the Russian Federation, are applied by specialists in conducting forensic examinations. Such a study is possible only by order of the investigator, interrogating officer or judicial authority. Indeed, without conducting a forensic examination, which allows you to determine the seriousness of the harm caused to the person’s health, it will not be possible for law enforcement officials to hold the alleged offender liable for their actions. It is for this reason that a special study is appointed and conducted.
In addition, the current Code of Criminal Procedure also indicates that a mandatory forensic examination is necessary to determine the severity of the harm caused to the health of the injured person.
Definition
The harm caused to the health of a person is a violation of the integrity, functions of the organs and tissues of the latter, which occurred as a result of exposure to certain environmental factors (chemical, physical, biological).
Even if the victim received a serious injury, only a specialist of a medical institution will be able to establish the exact degree of his severity. Because law enforcement officials do not have the knowledge to make the correct diagnosis and characterization of injuries.
Important
The current rules for determining the severity of harm to health allow experts from specialized institutions to accurately characterize the degree of damage to the skin and injuries that a person has. The study uses medical criteria approved by the Ministry of Health.
Kinds
Damage to the health of the victim may be as follows:
- severe;
- moderate severity;
- easy.
In the event that the examination determines that a person has one of the following types of injuries, the person who intentionally caused injuries to the injured person will be punished with a criminal offense under the relevant article of the Criminal Code.
Life threatening
If the victim received a serious injury, then he should immediately receive medical assistance. Otherwise, everything can end very badly.
After all, harm that is dangerous to human life is characterized precisely by the fact that it most often leads to death. In some cases, even emergency medical personnel are not able to help the victim.
The danger of serious harm is manifested not only in the fact that a person received indelible injuries, but also in the presence of acquired diseases and pathological conditions.
If we talk about the loss of speech, vision, hearing, then all these signs indicate that serious damage was actually done to human health. Indeed, such functions are most often not restored, and a citizen becomes disabled.
In the event that a woman as a result of causing serious injury to her has lost a child, this will be one of the signs indicating that irreparable harm has been done to her health. A forensic examination in such a situation should be carried out by several experts with the mandatory participation of an obstetrician-gynecologist.
A significant permanent loss of overall working capacity by not less than one third will mean only one thing: the victim's health has been inflicted severe damage. Such a conclusion can only be given by a specialist expert after conducting a study. As a result of severe injury or illness, a person loses working capacity by 35%. This is characterized by a long stay on sick leave - more than 120 days.
Criminally punishable
If a person by his illegal actions caused serious harm to the health of another person, the perpetrator will be liable for this under Art. 111 of the Criminal Code. The minimum sentence under this article is up to eight years in isolation from society. In such a case, qualifying signs of severity of harm are:
- danger to life (it may arise as a result of an injury to the head and spine, which subsequently leads to death or a person falls into a coma - this is also considered a borderline state between life and death);
- termination of pregnancy (this is a serious harm), but in order to determine that a woman has lost her baby due to the crime committed against her, a special study needs to be done;
- loss of an organ or its functions (for example, due to a serious injury, a citizen remained dumb or lost his arms and legs due to the fault of a criminal who acted with intent and wished for the onset of negative consequences);
- the acquisition of a disease such as drug addiction or substance abuse (only an expert can make an accurate diagnosis after conducting a series of studies with the direct participation of narcologists);
- disfigurement of a person’s face (the expert gives a conclusion), the harm done will be considered serious if the expert determines that the wounds do not heal on their own and the person does not take its previous shape without the intervention of a plastic surgeon;
- mental disorder (if there is a direct connection between the actions of the attacker and the ensuing consequences);
- persistent loss of professional ability to work (the guilty person knows about this in advance, but still commits unlawful acts against a person).
If, as a result of such unlawful acts, the victim died, then the punishment for the attacker will be imposed in accordance with Part 4 of Art. 111 of the Criminal Code.
Nuances
The rules for determining the severity of harm to health should be used by both experts of state institutions and private entrepreneurs involved in forensic examinations. In addition, each specialist who is entrusted with the implementation of such a study is warned by the official of criminal liability for providing the investigation or court with a false conclusion. This is the order.
Therefore, all forensic experts try to carry out their work in a very high quality and only within the framework of the current law. Nevertheless, if the parties to the process are not sure of the correctness of the conclusion made, then they can petition the investigator or the court to re-conduct this research in another institution. But there must be good reason for this.
Moderate
The infliction of such harm to health is characterized by a number of signs. These include:
- health disorder for a long period of time (more than three weeks);
- persistent loss of ability to work less than 1/3.
If harm to the health of moderate severity was intentionally inflicted, the perpetrator must be held criminally liable. Of course, there is no danger to life in this case, but the injuries received can cause a person certain inconveniences.
The duration of incapacity for work is determined by the expert on the basis of the medical documents submitted. If a person began to work and refused a sick leave, this may affect the conclusion of a specialist.
It should also be added here that experts in some cases are critical of documents submitted from the hospital and therefore try to examine in more detail the injuries received by the victim.
It should also be noted that in carrying out his work, the latter must be guided by the rules for determining the severity of harm to health.
No serious consequences
This is how one can characterize a mild degree of severity of harm to health. Indeed, in this case, a person's ability to carry out labor activity is lost for a short time. In addition, the time spent on sick leave here does not exceed 21 days. In the event that the citizen was slightly harmed by the health of a citizen, he is qualified by the presence of such a sign as a slight persistent loss of general disability. This is enough for a specialist to make a correct conclusion after a forensic examination.
It is possible to determine that slight harm was done to the health of a person with the help of another qualifying symptom - short-term health disorder. Indeed, in this case, a person loses his ability to work by only five percent.
If minor injuries were inflicted on a citizen intentionally, then the alleged attacker must be held accountable for what he has done under the law.
Legal regulation
As already mentioned earlier, in order to accurately determine the severity of harm to human health, it is necessary to conduct a special study. It is carried out by forensic experts. The latter in their activities are guided by the rules for determining the degree of severity of harm to health that have been operating in the Russian Federation for ten years. Otherwise, the experts will become violators of the law. This document was approved by a resolution of the Government of the Russian Federation (No. 522 of August 17, 2007).
Experts also do the necessary research, taking into account the medical criteria set forth in the Order of the Ministry of Health of April 24, 2008. Specialists simply cannot do without this document.
It should also be noted here that the decree "On the approval of the rules for determining the severity of harm caused to human health" indicated that the Ministry of Health needed to give clarifications on the application of the adopted normative act.
Determined by the judiciary
Permanent disfigurement of a person is one of the signs of an act, the punishment for which is fixed in article 111 of the Criminal Code.
The most interesting thing is that only the judicial authority can determine the severity of such harm. The expert is only required to establish the fact that the face is indelibly disfigured. But what does this mean?
Permanent damage will not disappear on its own, even after a long period of time has passed. And in order to return the face to its original appearance, it will be necessary to undergo plastic surgery.
General
In the event that as a result of the examination it is established that the victim received serious injuries due to criminal intent, due to someone's negligence or due to a traffic accident, a serious punishment can be expected for the guilty according to the existing norms of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. Severe harm to health is determined only by qualifying signs. Do not forget that here the expert examines not only the damage found on the human body, but also the relevant medical documents.
In addition, it often happens that a person dies due to injuries and injuries.
During an accident
Not a single driver is safe from accident. Indeed, on the road, far from all citizens try to comply with traffic rules. Therefore, if a person is seriously injured in an accident, then a person who is driving a car may face even a prison term. Nevertheless, the severity of the injuries sustained by a passenger or a pedestrian participant in the movement can only be determined by an expert after conducting a study.
It should be noted that the driver will be prosecuted only in that situation if it turns out that serious damage was caused to the human health through the fault of the motorist. Because such a rule is contained in the current Criminal Code.
Nevertheless, if a passenger or a pedestrian received moderate injuries, many citizens are interested in the question of whether the driver faces any punishment for what happened. It should immediately be said that in this case criminal liability is not provided for by law. However, if the driver is guilty, he faces an administrative penalty.
How is it carried out?
When conducting a forensic examination, the specialist must carefully examine the damage that the person received. In addition, the forensic doctor is required to establish a connection between the injury and the method of its receipt. As a rule, all the questions to which he must give answers are spelled out in the decision on the examination. In the event that the provided documents and materials are not enough to make a correct conclusion, the specialist may petition the investigator to be given additional data from the case materials regarding the committed act.
Small characteristic
Each specialist, who was ordered by law enforcement agencies to conduct a forensic examination, uses in his professional activity the existing rules for determining the severity of harm to health. This document sets out the procedure for the implementation of this study.
In his professional activities, during the examination necessary to determine the severity of harm to health, the specialist is guided by medical criteria and qualifying signs. Otherwise, the latter will not be able to make a correct conclusion.
Here it is also necessary to add that the future life of not only the victim, but also the alleged attacker will depend on the result of the examination. After all, if a person is not guilty of what he did, then the proof of his words will be the conclusion of a specialist.
On practice
Law enforcement officers during the verification of the crime committed are required to carry out a number of necessary measures. Here it is necessary to determine how the victim received the injuries on his body. This can only show a forensic examination.
In the event that a person died from injuries, the study is mandatory. As a rule, this is carried out by decision of the investigator after the initiation of the case. After all, only an expert is able to establish the exact cause of death of the victim.
If the injury resulted in a fatal outcome, then the specialist will write about it in his conclusion. As a rule, the results of studies are used as the main evidence in the case. It is for this reason that forensics pays special attention in criminal proceedings.
Total
So, it means that a forensic examination, which allows you to establish the severity of harm to the health of the victim, is carried out only by a specialist who has certain knowledge. This type of research is being carried out in a hospital or other other medical organization. As a rule, if the examination is carried out in relation to a living person, then the specialist himself asks him questions regarding the incident. In this case, he must identify the person who will take part in the study. If all the person’s data coincides with those indicated in the documents, then the expert begins his work by clarifying the circumstances of the incident.
The source of preliminary information, which is simply necessary for a detailed study, is most often the decision of the official. Although in most cases the expert learns about the circumstances of the incident from the words of the victim himself.
After the study is completed, the specialist will record all the data and send an opinion to law enforcement agencies. The specified document has special legal significance. Because based on the expert’s opinion, the investigator can open or terminate the criminal case that has been started.
In practice, it sometimes happens that a person who has reported to the police that he had been attacked simply refuses to undergo the indicated investigation in a medical institution. Thus, it is not possible to determine the complexity of the harm done to him. , , , .
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