Causing harm to health of moderate severity: legal definition, Article 112 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation and punishment for causing harm

• July 6, 2021
• Criminal law
• Alice Wonder

Criminal liability is perhaps the most serious type of liability. This is primarily due to the immediate threat to the life and health of others. In addition, often with this kind of illegal acts, the victims suffer huge material losses, damage is also caused to the environment and social tension in society is heightened. It is necessary from an early age to give the younger generation an understanding of the norms of behavior in society and, most importantly, the value of human life and health.

Definition of the concept

Intentional harm to human health of moderate severity is a dangerous crime. Responsibility for it is provided for in the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, namely in Article 112. According to this article of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, the object of this dangerous act is human health, and the objective party will be the infliction of damage to health of moderate severity, which did not entail the consequences reflected in Article 111 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, but leading to long-term impairment of health and a sustainable loss of general ability to work by less than one third. At the same time, the subjective side is distinguished, which is indirect or direct intent, as well as the subject of the crime. The latter is represented by an individual who is sane and has reached the age of 14 years.

Features of a crime of moderate gravity

Causing damage to the victim, characterized as harm of moderate severity, is the action or inaction of the criminal. A person is held accountable only in cases where, through his fault, a temporary disorder of the victim’s mental state or loss of his ability to work has occurred for a period of more than 3 weeks.
As a rule, harm of this degree includes:

1. Dislocations;
2. Fractures;
3. Cracks;
4. Loss of fingers.

According to the norms of criminal law, a person is held accountable if he intentionally or unintentionally committed any action that was aimed at causing harm to the health of the injured person.

Attention! For the purposes of this article, a criminal can only be a person who is 14 years of age or older.

Causing slight harm to health intentionally

Physical violence committed with deliberate intent is also an unlawful act for which the perpetrator must be held criminally liable. However, the type of punishment will directly depend on the exact degree of damage caused to the injured person.

Liability for causing harm to health of this degree is defined in Article 115 of the Criminal Code. The norm of this legislative act establishes that bringing the guilty person to justice occurs on the basis of the following features:

1. The actions of a criminal person are intentional. Accordingly, a person cannot be held liable under this article due to an accident;
2. Causing minor harm implies a short-term disorder of a person’s health, a slight loss of his general ability to work;
3. If the injury was caused for certain reasons, the offender may be subject to more serious penalties.

Signs qualifying a crime

Only a medical expert can determine the extent of the consequences of a criminal act. It is this specialist who is responsible for determining the severity of the injuries received by the victim, as well as classifying what happened.

In general, a crime of medium degree is characterized by the following features:

1. The expert excludes the possibility of causing serious harm to the victim’s health;
2. As a result of the acts committed by the culprit, there is a long-term disorder of the person’s psycho-emotional state, as well as a disruption of his normal functioning (for example, loss of ability to work);
3. Based on the results of a study of the consequences of actions, it was found that a person’s normal working capacity decreased by less than a third.

Corpus delicti

When qualifying a criminal act, it is first of all important to determine whether it was committed intentionally or unintentionally. At the same time, when considering this type of crime, the specialist must also establish the subject and object of the criminal act.

The subject of a crime is a person who committed certain actions that caused harm to a person. The object of a crime is a person who has suffered as a result of the criminal actions of the perpetrator of a socially dangerous act.

Important! To open proceedings in a case, a law enforcement officer must have evidence that the guilty person had the intent to cause damage to the health of the injured citizen.

In turn, the intent may be:

1. Direct. Such intent means the commission of actions by a person, provided that at that moment he was in a normal mental state and understood what exactly he was doing and what consequences awaited him;
2. Indirect. Indirect intent means a violation of the law committed by a person who is aware of what he is doing. But in this case, the culprit did not want and intended to cause damage to the health of the victim through his actions.

Reasons for starting production

The grounds for starting proceedings in a criminal case concerning the infliction of moderate injuries to a person’s health mean the presence of a sufficient amount of data that indicates signs of the commission of a socially dangerous criminal act.

Within the framework of this norm, three key points can be distinguished:

1. Signs of committing a socially dangerous act;
2. Availability of data that indicates signs of a criminal act;
3. Sufficiency of data that allows the authorized person to make a decision on the need to initiate criminal proceedings in the case.

When making the final decision on the need to initiate criminal proceedings, a law enforcement officer may not have comprehensive information about the full composition of the crime.

Classification

The victim may receive moderate harm to health under different circumstances. Each of them is spelled out in a separate article of the Code. Based on the conditions of the crime that occurred, there are several types of harm to health of moderate severity:

1. Deliberate. Liability for this type of causing moderate harm to health is regulated by Article 112 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.
2. Committed in a state of passion. The punishment for such a crime is reflected in Article 113 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.
3. Committed in a situation of exceeding the measures necessary to detain a criminal. Such an act is considered under Article 114 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.

What is the punishment?

Criminal liability

Article 112 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation - intentional infliction of moderate harm

Responsibility for this offense begins at the age of 14 . The punishment will depend on the presence of qualifying features.

Reference: qualifying features are a number of reasons why a criminal may aggravate his sentence.

Without them, the following liability is possible:

• imprisonment for up to three years;
• restriction of freedom for up to three years;
• forced labor for up to three years;
• arrest for up to six months.

If such qualifying characteristics are present, the penalty is up to five years. Below, in the paragraph about qualifying features, we will talk about them in detail.

We talked more about intentionally causing damage in this article.

In a state of passion

Persons over 16 years of age must be held accountable for this offense . For such a crime the following liability is provided:

1. restriction of freedom for up to two years;
2. forced labor for up to two years;
3. imprisonment for up to two years;
4. correctional labor for up to two years.

By exceeding measures during detention

A person who has committed a crime under Article 114 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation may receive the following sentence:

1. restriction of freedom for up to two years;
2. correctional labor for up to two years;
3. forced labor for up to two years;
4. imprisonment for up to two years.

Current material on the topic: Causing harm during the detention of a person who has committed a crime.

Fines

Causing moderate harm to health is not punishable by penalties as the main punishment , but this is possible as an additional measure. Specific amounts are not provided; their size will vary depending on the specific situation.

Important: an exception to the rule is average harm to health resulting from an accident. In accordance with Article 12.24 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation, penalties range from 10 to 25 thousand rubles, or deprivation of rights for up to two years.

Other types

This includes damage caused by negligence. Since there is no such article in the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (there is only one for serious bodily injury), the perpetrator faces payment of financial and moral damage.

To make everything clearer, here are a few examples:

• example 1. Citizen P.N. Kovaleva was walking down the street in the evening and suddenly she was accosted by several hooligans who began to pester her.
  She began to resist, and the criminals began to beat her. The medical facility revealed that she had a broken arm, a concussion and bruises all over her body. Pay attention to the qualifying features (a detailed list is given below): a criminal group, an atrocity committed due to ordinary hooliganism, the victim was a minor. Based on this, we can conclude that the perpetrators face up to five years in prison.
• Example 2. Citizen Mironov D.I attacked his friend in an affective state.
  The injuries he inflicted (concussion, dislocated leg, scratches) were classified as moderate harm to health. Since there are no aggravating features when inflicting injuries in an affective state, the perpetrator can receive a maximum sentence of up to two years. This may be deprivation or restriction of freedom, as well as correctional or forced labor.
• Example 3. Policeman S.L. Pronin
  detained a criminal and exceeded his authority. He struck him several times in the torso area. A medical examination determined a rib fracture, i.e. a moderate injury. There is one small nuance here: during the arrest, the measures he took (use of physical force) were not forced. This leads to the fact that S.L. Pronin faces a more serious punishment, restriction or imprisonment for up to two years, forced labor or correctional labor for up to two years.

Fundamental Criteria

Moderate harm to health is recognized in the presence of two groups of signs:

1. Positive - harm has been caused to health, resulting in a long-term health disorder (more than three weeks) and causing a permanent loss of general ability to work to a significant extent, ranging from 10 to 30% inclusive (less than one third).
2. Negative - harm to health is caused, which is not life-threatening and does not entail the consequences specified in Article 111 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.

What is causing harm of moderate severity under Article 15 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation?

In accordance with Article 15 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, crimes of medium gravity include criminal acts - intentional and careless, for which the maximum imposed punishment does not exceed 5 and 10 years, respectively.

Let us dwell in more detail on careless injury to health, as a crime that falls under this category and is very common in the structure of crime.

What are the differences between other degrees of severity?

The above signs are qualifying. They clearly distinguish between moderate harm and severe and mild impairment of the injured person’s body. A mild degree is indicated by a short-term health disorder (no more than 21 days). A severe degree of damage to health is established if the following pathological conditions are present:

1. Harm that is life-threatening.
2. Terminated pregnancy.
3. Loss of hearing, vision or speech or a human organ, as well as loss of function of a particular organ.
4. Mental disorder.
5. Acquired drug addiction or substance abuse.
6. Facial disfigurement that cannot be corrected.
7. Lost total ability to work by one third or more.
8. Lost completely professional ability to work.

Features of conducting a forensic medical examination

The severity of the damage caused to the victim’s health is established in medical organizations that are part of the health care system, by a doctor with the specialty of a forensic medical expert. One of the listed qualifying signs is sufficient for the degree of harm to be determined. If there are several signs from different groups, then the degree for which more signs were identified than in others is indicated.

In the process of carrying out a forensic medical examination, the object is a living person or a corpse (parts of a corpse), medical documentation and materials on the case, provided in the required order. A prerequisite for a forensic medical examination is the authenticity of documents that reflect a sufficient amount of data about the damage to the victim’s body, the nature of the injuries, and its clinical course. If the data is insufficient, the expert draws up a petition in which he indicates the need for additional information.

On the courts’ assessment of the “cost” of life

A large-scale study on the practice of courts assigning amounts of compensation for moral damage in cases of harm to the life and health of citizens, which was announced at a recent round table at the FPA, was carried out by lawyers under my leadership and with the support of the Federal Chamber of Lawyers of the Russian Federation and the Chamber of Lawyers of the Nizhny Novgorod Region.

On the importance of compensation for moral damage

Undoubtedly, the topic of compensation for moral damage is not limited to compensation payments in case of harm to human life and health.

The study of practice specifically in this category of cases was due to their high significance both for the victims themselves and for society as a whole. The amount of compensation for the most valuable thing - life and health - clearly shows the level of true security of a person, and also affects the punishment for those responsible for the safety of people.

According to official statistics for 2022, more than 194 thousand people were injured in Russia as a result of road accidents alone, of which 17.2 thousand died1. Thousands of people annually suffer work injuries or lose their health as a result of man-made disasters and while performing military service duties. The rate of injuries, illnesses and deaths from “external causes” is disproportionately higher than the statistics of foreign countries with similar economic and sociological conditions.

The true attitude towards safety requirements is clearly demonstrated by various tragedies that lead to a huge number of victims. A striking example is the recent tragedy in Kemerovo, where several dozen children and adults died as a result of gross violations of safety regulations and fire safety regulations.

The low level of financial responsibility is one of the reasons for the huge scale of human losses.

It should be noted that in some categories of cases, compensation for moral damage is the only payment that the victim or relative of the deceased can count on. For example, an able-bodied spouse in connection with the death of her husband, parents in connection with the death of a child, a brother in connection with the death of a sister, etc.

When determining the amount of compensation for moral damage, the courts are guided as defined by Art. 1101 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, the requirements of “reasonableness and fairness”.

Such legislative regulation, as the study shows, does not adequately ensure the principles of equality, reasonableness and fairness and causes serious problems in law enforcement practice, namely:

• the enormous variation in the amounts of compensation awarded for moral damage when courts consider cases with extremely similar circumstances;
• the typical amount of compensation awarded for moral damages is catastrophically low compared to the amounts requested and existing scientific research regarding the cost of human life and health.

About the research methodology and its results

We decided to conduct a study in order to rely not only on our practice and understanding, but to operate with figures for the country as a whole. It was important for us to understand: low compensation amounts are a nationwide trend or a feature of only our region.

For analysis during the study, we used data from judicial statistics of the Judicial Department at the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation for the period from 2016 to June 20222; we also collected data from judicial practice throughout the country on the amount of compensation awarded for moral damage for the period from 2015 until September 2017. With the support of the FPA RF3, statistical data was obtained on 447 cases from 63 bar associations from 25 regions of the country, and data from specialized bar associations on judicial practice in 1832 cases was systematized. Ultimately, 2,236 cases were selected from 28 regions of Russia.

According to statistical information from the Judicial Department of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, the average value of the amount of compensation for moral damage awarded in the event of harm to life or health, for the 1st half of 2022 amounted to 68.6 thousand rubles, for the 1st half of 2016 - 77 thousand rubles.

During these periods, the courts reported on 15,372 cases considered (2016 and the first half of 2022) on claims for compensation for moral damage in connection with harm to life and health.

If we analyze the indicators for 2022 as a whole (information appeared after the publication of the study), then the average amount of compensation for 20,565 cases became even lower and amounted to 54.6 thousand rubles.

Claims for compensation for moral damage are also made as part of another category of cases, but it is not possible to single out specifically moral damage for them separately. A detailed calculation of how we calculated the average amount of compensation for moral damage, and links to statistics and the corresponding lines of the statistical report of the Judicial Department under the RF Armed Forces are given in the study. The official statistics of the Judicial Department under the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation on the amount of compensation for moral damage are of a general nature; they do not distinguish between cases of awarding compensation for moral damage based on the signs of harm to life or health, according to the source of harm, or the presence of the victim’s fault, but show the average amounts awarded in general throughout the entire country.

For the purposes of the study, according to detailed criteria, we were able to analyze only data from the judicial practice of legal entities.

The analysis of the obtained data was carried out in three directions:

1. The severity of the harm caused.

2. Source of harm.

3. The presence of the guilt of the victim himself in causing him harm.

At the same time, the minimum and maximum amounts of compensation for moral damage, as well as average and median indicators, were identified.

The study showed that the average value of compensation for moral damage awarded in the event of the death of a citizen is 111 thousand rubles, and the median value, when half of the initial data is less than this mark in value, and half is more, which to a greater extent reflects the actual picture of what was happening amounted to 70 thousand rubles. The average “cost” of disability was 193 thousand rubles, and the median value of disability was 140 thousand rubles.

Amounts of compensation for moral damage awarded by the court in correlation with the severity of the harm caused (RUB)

As the study shows, the minimum amount of compensation for moral damage in the event of a death was 5 thousand rubles, and the maximum exceeds it 1,700 times and amounts to 8.5 million rubles. The minimum for disability was 1000 rubles. and is 3127 times lower than the maximum.

The ratio of minimum and maximum compensation for moral damage by type of severity of harm caused

A comparative analysis of the obtained values ​​was carried out in relation to the minimum wage4.

The average amount of compensation for moral damage awarded for the death of a person was only 14.8 minimum wages, and for disability - 25.7 minimum wages.

Correlation with the minimum wage of the average and median amounts of compensation for moral damage by the severity of the harm caused

The analysis was also carried out depending on the source of harm: all cases were divided into conditional categories:

1. Crimes.

2. Work injuries and industrial accidents.

3. Road traffic accidents (involving both personal and public transport).

4. Other categories (medical errors, electric shock, etc.).

Legal traditions are such that maximum amounts of compensation are awarded to crime victims. Moreover, even having the status of a “victim of a crime” does not guarantee a decent amount of compensation for moral damage. The result of the study shows the difference between the minimum and maximum amount of moral damage from crimes by 2833 times, when the minimum awarded was 3 thousand rubles, and the maximum was 8.5 million rubles.

The ratio of minimum and maximum compensation for moral damage by source of harm caused

The behavior of the victim himself, as the study shows, also matters in determining the amount of compensation.
According to Russian legislation, denial of compensation for harm in certain categories of cases is unacceptable, which means that even if the victim is “to blame,” he has the right to receive compensation. Courts treat victims more leniently in the absence of their fault in causing harm, however, the amount of compensation awarded does not differ significantly - the average value is within 20%. Amounts of compensation for moral damage ordered by the court, depending on the presence or absence of the victim’s guilt (rub.)

On calculating the “cost” of human life

Calculations of the “cost” of human life were made by the Financial University under the Government of the Russian Federation. When carrying out calculations, an integrated approach was used, taking into account macroeconomic calculations, data on population income, life expectancy, and sociological research data. The average “cost” of human life in 2022 (fair compensation in connection with the death of a person) was 5.7 million rubles, the median value was 1.4 million rubles. The average “cost” of disability was 4.8 million rubles. with a median of 1.2 million rubles.

According to the results of this study, the deviation of real indicators of compensation for moral damage from the “cost” ones in the case of death is 51 times, and in the case of disability – 25 times.

Correlation with the “cost” of life and the “cost” of disability of the average and median amounts of compensation for moral damage, depending on the severity of the harm caused

The results of the study objectively and representatively demonstrate the enormous differences in the assigned amounts of compensation for moral damage, as well as the lack of uniformity in the “reasonableness and fairness” of judicial discretion when determining the amounts. Given the existing, although very rare, but decent amounts of compensation awarded in favor of relatives, close in level to “cost estimates,” the average and median indicators are extremely low. This situation is caused by the lack of clear criteria in the regulatory framework.

The study proves the need to reform legislation in the field of compensation for moral damage for harm caused to the life and health of citizens, towards standardization and development of methods for determining the amounts awarded.

Proposals for improving legislation

There may be several solutions:

1. Legislative establishment of rules (criteria) on the basis of which the amount of compensation can be determined with the mandatory introduction of its minimum amount linked to the cost of living. This decision can be implemented by amending Art. 1101 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation and the addition of its paragraph 3 with the following content:

"3. The amount of compensation for moral damage associated with harm to life and health is determined on the basis of the Rules established by the Government of the Russian Federation, but cannot be less than 20 times the minimum subsistence level per capita established in accordance with the law for the entire Russian Federation.”

2. An alternative solution to the situation could be the formation by the highest judicial bodies of criteria and guidelines that the courts can rely on when making decisions, as well as all other participants in the process when conducting a case. One of the guidelines may be the practice of the European Court of Human Rights when collecting compensation payments in similar categories of cases. Currently, there is every reason for the formation of such practice in Russian courts. The Resolution of the Plenum of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation dated June 27, 2013 No. 21 “On the application by courts of general jurisdiction of the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms of November 4, 1950 and the Protocols thereto” clearly and unambiguously indicates the need to focus on the practice of the ECHR, in including when determining the amount of compensation for moral damage.

In further development of its position, albeit 5 years later, on August 14, 2018, the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation increased compensation for moral damage from 150 thousand rubles. up to 2 million 366 thousand rubles. (Definition No. 78-KG18-38). In increasing the compensation for moral damage by 15 times, the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation referred to the numerous judicial practice of the ECHR in cases similar to the applicant’s case, in which compensation for moral damage was awarded in amounts from 2 thousand euros to 18 thousand euros (ECtHR decisions of June 17, 2010 in the case “Shcherbakov v. Russian Federation” in complaint No. 23939/02; dated January 10, 2012 in the case “Ananyev and others v. Russia” in complaint No. 42525/07, No. 60800/08).

Even a superficial analysis of the practice of the ECtHR in resolving issues of the amount of compensation in cases involving harm to life and health leads to the conclusion that there is a large gap in the amounts awarded, not in favor of Russian jurisdiction. Thus, 60 thousand euros in compensation for moral damages were awarded to the applicant in connection with the death of her son (ECHR Ruling of November 28, 2022 in the case of Shmeleva v. Russia, complaint No. 43664/16), 50 thousand euros to the applicant for death of a son (ECHR Ruling of March 30, 2022 in the case “Nagmetov v. Russian Federation” on complaint No. 35589/08), 20 thousand euros to the applicant in connection with the death of his brother and mother, 15 thousand euros to the applicant in connection with the death of a brother, sister and two nephews, while in the last two cases the court “noted the modesty of the applicants’ demands” (ECHR Ruling of February 24, 2005 in the case “Khashiev and Akayeva v. the Russian Federation” on complaints No. 57942/00 and No. 57945/ 00).

In conclusion, it should be noted once again that low amounts of payments cause not only a state of humiliation and resentment among victims who received meager compensation, but also a high incidence of injuries and many tragedies.

The presence of a strict mechanism of responsibility for the safety of people, an integral part of which would be high financial responsibility for the most valuable things - life and health, will lead in the medium term to a qualitative improvement in living conditions and a reduction in human losses.

1 Official statistics of road accidents of the State Traffic Safety Inspectorate of the Russian Federation https://stat.gibdd.ru/

2 Data from judicial statistics. Judicial Department of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation. https://www.cdep.ru/index.php?id=79

3 Letter of the FPA of the Russian Federation dated August 15, 2022 No. 362-08/17-AP.

4 In accordance with the Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation of September 19, 2022 No. 1119, the cost of living in the Russian Federation was 10,329 rubles.

Assessment of the victim's condition

Sometimes situations may arise in which it is necessary to conduct a special medical examination on a living person. For this purpose, medical specialists from other fields of medicine are invited. The presence of injuries or diseases present in a living person before the incident under investigation is determined. It is necessary to distinguish between the pathological conditions that arose in the victim after the crime was committed and those that existed before. If a person has multiple injuries received more than once (those inflicted during the provision of medical care are also taken into account), each injury is considered separately, and a severity level is assigned for each. In the case when several lesions mutually aggravate each other, their effect is regarded as cumulative when setting the severity of the injury.

If the consequences of a crime lead to mental disorders and drug addiction (substance abuse), doctors such as a psychiatrist and a narcologist are involved in a forensic medical examination. The presence of an established termination of pregnancy requires consultation with an obstetrician-gynecologist. The severity of damage to health in the case of a disfigured face is determined through the court, while a forensic medical examination only establishes the fact of an indelible damage to the face.

In addition to the mentioned article 112, information on liability for harm of moderate severity caused to health is contained in articles numbered 113 and 114 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.

When can they refuse?

Naturally, not every claim is satisfied by the court, especially in the case of a demand for material compensation. The main motive for refusing to recognize claims is the fault of the victim, which caused the accident or work injury.

And sometimes - a criminal offense, if it was associated with excess of self-defense, when the victim was attacked. The intent of the victim, qualified in accordance with the provisions of Article 1083 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, relieves the defendant of guilt in a civil suit.

Also, a refusal may follow if it does not clearly follow from the evidence presented that moral damage arose due to the injuries received.

What does Article 114 say?

Article 114 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation reveals the objective side of an unlawful act as causing harm to health of moderate or severe severity, which occurred in the event of exceeding the measures that are necessary for persons who have committed a particular crime. The subjective side, the subject of the crime, are equal to those in Article 113.

Harm to health of moderate severity is a criminal offense. Punishment for it is provided for in the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. The main articles of the code reflecting responsibility for unlawful acts involving harm of moderate severity are articles 112, 113 and 114. Moreover, in some cases they are also based on article 111. Average harm to health is determined by a forensic medical examination, which is carried out in medical institutions and, if necessary, involves specialist doctors. There is a list of qualifying differences between mild, moderate and severe degrees of injury to the human body. If one of the indicated signs of a health disorder is present, the degree of damage is boldly set. Knowing the specifics of criminal liability for committing crimes that resulted in harm to health of moderate severity, citizens can assess the scale of such incidents and take all possible measures to prevent and combat illegal actions.

Compensation for moderate bodily injury

Any harm caused to a person during the commission of a crime may be subject to compensation in criminal proceedings.

Moscow

Saint Petersburg

Free consultation

Moscow

Saint Petersburg

What damage can be compensated?

Reimbursable:

• Material damage expressed by:
• in the lack of certain lost earnings during the period of restoration of the victim’s ability to work (for example, broken bones of the arms or legs can heal for several months and all this time the person does not earn money);

costs for restoring health, which may include: the purchase of medications, transportation costs for travel to the place of treatment and possible further rehabilitation, hiring a nurse in the hospital, rehabilitation treatment (voucher to a sanatorium), restoration of broken teeth, purchase of dentures, and so on .

Any expenses incurred by the victim for which a fee was paid and which could not be provided free of charge are subject to compensation in the material component.

If you are a victim of a crime, you have suffered harm to your health, and you plan to file a lawsuit in the future for compensation for the damage caused, from the very beginning of restoring your health, try to record all the costs incurred and document them (keep receipts, tickets, travel cards, etc.). d.).

All this will need to be presented in court in the future in order to make the correct decision on compensation for damage in your favor.

Amount of compensation for damage for an average degree

Russian legislation does not have a concept or definition of the amount of compensation for damage caused.

Material damage, as already described above, is compensated within the limits of reasonable, recorded and confirmed expenses.

The court will not decide to pay compensation for meals delivered from an expensive restaurant to the victim who was undergoing treatment, because meals are required in a particular medical hospital.

But the purchase, in addition to the necessary medications, of any vitamin complexes recommended by the doctor as optional, but desirable for a speedy recovery, can be included in the list of reimbursable expenses.

The main thing is accounting, justification and documentary evidence of the expenses incurred.

The amount of compensation for moral damage is calculated from a combination of various factors such as: judicial practice prevailing in the region, the degree and direction of the defendant’s guilt, the motive of his actions, the circumstances of the committed act, the subjective opinion of the judge considering the case and others.

For example, a beating of a victim with whom they drank together in a tavern, and a beating by a group of people causing harm to the health of a bystander, will most likely be assessed differently by the court both in terms of sanctions and in terms of compensation for the same moral damage.

7(800) 350-23-68

Dmitry Konstantinovich

Expert of the site "Legal Consultant"

Ask a Question

So how much should you ask for compensation for the victim? Ask for financial compensation according to your calculations and the evidence of these calculations presented by the investigation or by you personally.

And for moral - ask for even more, and the court will decide how much they will already assign for payment.

The procedure for recovery in criminal proceedings

The procedure is enshrined in Article 44 of the Criminal Procedure Code of the Russian Federation, which states that the victim of a crime can be recognized as a civil plaintiff and demand compensation for damage caused to him by criminal actions.

The procedure for filing a claim can begin from the moment a criminal case is initiated regarding a criminal event for which damages will be compensated. In our case, when initiating cases under Articles 112, 113, 114 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.

In practice, more often than not, everything looks like this: closer to the end of the investigation of a criminal case, the inquiry officer or investigator asks the victim about his intentions to file a claim for compensation for harm and asks to provide supporting documents.

Next, a statement of claim is drawn up and the victim is recognized as a civil plaintiff by a decision of an official.

Declaring your rights to compensation for moral and material damage at the stage of preliminary investigation or inquiry has its undoubted advantages over civil proceedings:

1. The claim is drawn up in a free form, the main thing is a request to be recognized as the plaintiff and compensate for the damage.
2. There is no need to file a claim in court through civil proceedings.
3. No state duty is paid.
4. The person conducting the investigation, if the victim wishes, is obliged to take all measures to prove the claim regarding the nature of the harm and the scope of its compensation. That does not prevent the victim himself or his representative, for example, a lawyer involved in the case, from doing this.
5. In the event of a guilty verdict in a criminal case, the circumstances of the statement of claim are, as a rule, established and considered proven by a court verdict that has entered into force.

The result of actions to recover damages is consideration of the claim in court. Based on the results of the consideration of the criminal case and the claim, the judge makes one of the following decisions:

• On satisfaction of the claim (partially or completely).
• About refusal to satisfy it.
• On determining the amount of compensation in civil proceedings (the claim itself is recognized, but the amount of compensation is subsequently determined based on the civil claim).

If a verdict of acquittal is rendered, the claim may also be permanently rejected, but not always.

A claim can be abandoned at any time from the time it is filed until the end of the judicial investigation.

Claims are often abandoned in connection with certain payments to victims received from the perpetrators, which are carried out by them in order to obtain for themselves the favor of the court and the victims themselves.

Voluntary compensation for harm is a mitigating circumstance enshrined in criminal law.