One type of assault and battery in Massachusetts is called Assault and Battery Causing Serious Bodily Injury. This crime can be punished by a maximum term of imprisonment of two and one half years or by a fine up to $1000 under M.G.L. c. 265, §13A(b)(i).
This post will answer some frequently asked questions about assault and battery.
What is assault and battery causing serious injury?
A defendant is charged with the offense of assault and battery causing serious injury when he or she commits an intentional or reckless assault and battery causing serious bodily injury to the alleged victim.
A serious bodily injury is an injury that involves one or more of the following:
- Permanent disfigurement
- A loss or impairment of a bodily function, limb, or organ
- A substantial risk of death
Assault and battery causing serious injury can be:
- Intentional assault and battery causing serious bodily injury
- Reckless assault and battery causing serious injury
With reckless assault and battery causing serious injury, instead of intentional conduct, the offense involves a reckless touching that results in bodily injury.
What does it mean to intentionally touch someone?
The second requirement of proving intentional assault and battery causing serious injury is that the alleged victim must have been touched intentionally by the defendant. This means that the defendant consciously and deliberately intended the touching to occur, and that the touching was not merely accidental or negligent.
The Commonwealth is not required to prove that the defendant specifically intended to cause injury to the alleged victim. Rather, assault and battery is legally considered to be a general intent crimes, so therefore it does NOT require specific intent to injure the victim.
How does the government prove someone guilty of reckless assault and battery causing serious bodily injury?
In order to prove the defendant guilty of the offense of reckless assault and battery causing serious injury, the Commonwealth must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that:
1. The defendant acted recklessly
2. The defendant’s reckless conduct included an intentional act which resulted in serious bodily injury to the alleged victim
Note that it is not enough for the Commonwealth to prove that the defendant acted negligently—or in a way that a reasonably careful person would not. The Commonwealth also must prove that the defendant’s actions went beyond mere negligence and amounted to recklessness.
The defendant acted recklessly if he or she knew, or should have known, that such actions were very likely to cause substantial harm to someone, but he or she ran that risk and went ahead with his or her actions anyway.
By an “intentional act”, it is meant that the defendant must have intended his or her acts that resulted in the touching, in the sense that those acts did not happen accidentally.
A defendant cannot be convicted of assault or battery if he or she only intended to injure or strike the alleged victim but did not actually touch his or her person. Neither can the defendant be convicted of assault or battery if he or she only had a strong prediction or suspicion that there would be harm inflicted and there was no actual touching.
Even if he or she was not conscious of the serious danger that was inherent in such conduct, it is still reckless conduct if a reasonable person, under the circumstances as they were known to the defendant, would have recognized that such actions were so dangerous that it was very likely that they would result in substantial injury.
If the accuser was injured while escaping, am I guilty of this crime?
If the victim was injured while escaping, the defendant is guilty of the offense of assault and battery causing serious injury if the Commonwealth proves beyond a reasonable doubt ALL of the following:
1. That the defendant caused the alleged victim reasonably to fear an immediate attack from the defendant
2. That this fear led the defendant to try to escape or defend himself or herself from the defendant
3. That the alleged victim received a serious bodily injury from or during that attempt to escape or defend
IF YOU OR A LOVED ONE HAVE BEEN CHARGED WITH ASSAULT & BATTERY CAUSING SERIOUS INJURY, AND YOU NEED AN EXPERIENCED CRIMINAL DEFENSE LAWYER WORKING ON YOUR SIDE TO PROTECT YOUR RIGHTS, PLEASE CONTACT CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY WILLIAM J. BARABINO.
CALL 781-393-5900 TO LEARN MORE ABOUT YOUR AVAILABLE DEFENSES.
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