Criminal law punishes behaviors that affect other people’s rights. It punishes all harm against physical or mental integrity caused to anyone in most circumstances. However, the Canadian Criminal Code establishes a difference between a minor and a serious injury.
If the aggression requires 30 or more recovery/medical treatment days, the aggressor should respond to grave injury charges. They should be punished in a similar way if the injury puts the victim’s life at immediate risk.
An injury is serious when it involves the loss of an organ, bodily function, body part, or a severe and permanent face disfigurement.
Anyone who has suffered a grave injury must receive compensation.
Implications of a serious injury
There are two kinds of implications: legal and personal. Let’s start with legal ones.
The Canadian Criminal Code, PART VIII, under “Duties Tending to Preservation of Life” says that anyone who causes bodily harm by criminal negligence is guilty of:
1. an indictable offence and liable to imprisonment for a term of not more than 10 years; or
2. an offence punishable on summary conviction.
Implications vary depending on the motive, in other words, they vary depending on whether the aggressor committed his crime intentionally or not.
If someone caused an accident by ignoring traffic law, they are more likely to receive a longer sentence. If someone harmed another person by accident, they are expected to receive a shorter sentence.
In summary, the legal implications of serious injuries vary depending on the aggressor’s intentions when committing the crime, and how their actions affected others.
What about the implications for the victims?
The aftermath of the injury carries harmful consequences to the victims’ health. Some of them have to deal with life-changing implications.
For instance, many people in the area have suffered a spinal cord accident that has caused them urinal and intestinal problems. Others are dealing with learning difficulties or musculoskeletal traumas.
Serious injuries bring overwhelming legal and personal implications.
Possibility to sue in case of a severe personal injury
Any personal injury lawyer in Richmond Hill knows that serious injuries can be directly prosecuted by the State. This means that the victim does not need to get involved and make a claim. Anyone can do it, and the State will investigate it. This is the case because people who regularly engage in these crimes are highly harmful to society.
Examples of serious injuries
• Burns.
• Face disfigurements.
• Violent contusions as a result of an assault.
• Mutilations.
• Brain injuries.
• Spinal cord injuries.
• Fractured bones.
Many people have searched for a personal injury lawyer in Richmond Hill because they have suffered one of these injuries.
In some cases, an injury does not need 30 days of physical treatment, but the victim does require more than 30 days of psychological therapy. That is what makes some victims think they have suffered a serious injury, and thus they should receive compensation for it.
Compensation after a serious injury
All victims of grave injuries deserve substantial compensation. And this compensation depends on the severity of their injuries. Also, it’s essential to know how much money was spent on the treatment.
In Ontario, the keys to success in legal claims regarding severe injuries are to prove the circumstances, and to seek advice from a personal injury lawyer in Richmond Hill.