Serious bodily injury can also be charged if you cause bodily harm to another person with a lethal weapon or if you attempt to physically injure or injure a teacher or school staff member as a result of their employment at the school. You can also be charged with aggravated assault if you knowingly, intentionally or recklessly assault a child under the age of six. Serious bodily injury occurs when the accused performs one of the following actions: There are often a variety of different defense tactics to choose from in the fight against a charge of assault. It depends heavily on the facts of the case, but we can and will often argue that the charge does not fit the circumstances and is not appropriate under the law. These cases can be difficult to prove if they depend on the reliability of the witnesses. Also note that fines can be added to any jail term under Pennsylvania state law. These are usually at the discretion of the trial judges, where appropriate. Below are details about Pennsylvania`s Attacks Act. Finally, people who hide injection needles and trick a law enforcement officer into injuring himself during a Patdown search can also be charged with simple bodily harm. There are two categories of assault in Pennsylvania: common assault and aggravated assault. To convict an accused of simple bodily harm, a prosecutor must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that if you or a loved one faces a simple charge of assault, call us now for a free and confidential consultation. We have experience defending personal injury allegations and work hard to achieve the best results for Cambria and Allegheny County clients. For a free initial assessment of your case, call us today.
If you are after work, leave your details and we will call you back immediately. If you have been arrested and charged with assault, you should be aware of the consequences of a conviction or plea. You should also explore possible defenses for your case and get help navigating the legal system. You can still do that today with an experienced criminal defense attorney in Pennsylvania. Get personalized advice and ask your legal questions. Many lawyers in Pennsylvania offer free counseling. For example, if a person threatens to hit a victim with their fist and swings and misses, they could be charged with a simple attack. If the person actually hits the victim with his fist and causes a bruise, he has committed a battery. In Pennsylvania, however, any offense would be charged with a simple attack. A mere verbal threat will not be enough to support a charge of assault. A victim must be placed in immediate fear of immediate bodily harm before an assault can be charged. For example, if a man says, “I`m going to beat you,” without going to you or trying to do so, no attack has taken place.
This is because many people make verbal threats that they don`t want to execute when they are angry. A conviction for assault will remain on your criminal record forever. It cannot be removed until you reach the age of 70, or apply for and receive a pardon from the governor. On the other hand, serious bodily harm is a crime of the first or second degree, depending on the person against whom the crime was committed. If it is against a police officer or a firefighter, it will be a first-degree crime. This carries a sentence of up to twenty years in prison. For everything else, it will be a second-degree crime. A second-degree crime is punishable by up to ten years` imprisonment.
Serious bodily injury may be charged with a 1st degree crime or a 2nd degree crime, depending on the nature of the attack. As a 1st degree crime, a conviction for aggravated assault can result in 10 to 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $25,000. As a crime 2. The notes can result in a conviction for aggravated assault for up to 5 to 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $25,000. Call a free consultation if you have been arrested or charged with assault or aggravated assault in Pennsylvania. A simple attack is usually a second-degree offense in Pennsylvania. However, if the attack took place while you were engaged in a mutually agreed fight, it is a third-degree offense. If the victim of the simple attack was a child under the age of 12, while the perpetrator was 18 years of age or older, it is a first-degree offence. Created by FindLaw`s team of legal writers and writers | Last updated on 27. March 2018 Under the state`s tort laws, a civil attack occurs when you engage in a deliberate act that leads someone else to believe that he or she will suffer immediate physical harm. A civil assault does not require physical harm to the victim. Pennsylvania`s Serious Bodily Injury Act is under 18 Pa.C.S.2702 Under this law, you can be charged with aggravated assault in several scenarios.
You can be charged with aggravated assault if you knowingly, intentionally or recklessly cause or attempt to cause serious bodily harm to another person with extreme indifference to human life. You may also be charged with this crime if you knowingly, intentionally or recklessly induce or attempt to cause serious bodily harm or assault in the course of their work.