PC 243(d) Battery With Serious Bodily Injury or Aggravated Battery

When a battery is committed against any person and serious bodily injury is inflicted on the person.

In this section, the criminal defense attorneys from the Law Offices of Natalio Pereira will explain one of the more serious California battery charges – Penal Code 243(d), “Battery with serious bodily injury” or “Aggravated battery”.  PC 243(d) is known as a “wobbler”, or a law that the prosecutor can choose to charge as a misdemeanor or a felony.  The prosecutor will base that decision on the circumstances of your case, and the seriousness of the alleged victim’s injury.  If you have been charged with PC 243(d) Aggravated Battery or any other California battery crime, please contact the criminal defense attorneys at the Law Offices of Natalio Pereira to schedule a consultation.

Let’s take a look at the elements of PC 243(d) Battery with Serious Bodily Injury or “Aggravated Battery”.

Elements of the Crime – PC 243(d) Aggravated Battery

In order to be convicted of PC 243(d), the prosecutor must be able to prove that you:

  1. Committed a battery;

  2. And caused serious bodily injury to the victim.

To learn more about what a “Battery” is, you can visit our section on Penal Code 242 Battery.

What is “serious bodily injury”?

The difference between a “simple” PC 242 Battery Hotlink and the more serious PC 243(d) Aggravated Battery charge is the degree of harm.  When a battery results in a serious bodily injury, a defendant can face PC 243(d) charges.

“Serious bodily injury” is a serious harm to one’s physical condition.  It can include broken or fractured bones, loss of consciousness, a concussion, or any wound requiring serious suturing/stitches.  There is no exhaustive list of “serious bodily injuries” in California law, but these are some examples.  It is up to the jury to determine whether an injury is to be considered a “serious bodily injury” for purposes of convicting a defendant of PC 243(d).

I have heard the term “Great bodily injury” before.  Is that the same thing as “serious bodily injury”?

No.  “Serious bodily injury” is a standard of injury that is lower, or less severe than “Great bodily injury”, or “GBI” as we call it in the courtroom.  Some injuries can be both “serious bodily injury” and “GBI”, but the difference is that Penal Code 243(d) “Aggravated Battery” uses the lower “serious bodily injury” standard.  This also carries a less severe penalty than a “GBI” enhancement can carry.

California Penal Code 12022.7 provides for “enhanced", or more severe, sentences for certain felony crimes when the victim suffers GBI.  However, like PC 243(d) with serious bodily injury, PC 12022.7 does not actually define what injuries would constitute GBI.

How can the criminal defense attorneys from the Law Offices of Natalio Pereira fight my PC 243(d) Aggravated Battery charge?

Our experienced criminal defense attorneys have several ways to fight a PC 243(d) Aggravated Battery charge in our Southern California courts.  Some of the ways we fight your PC 243(d) Aggravated Battery charges are:

  1. Self-Defense/Defense of Others. If you reasonably believe that you or someone else is about to be seriously harmed by another, you can use means of defending yourself or someone else. If someone approaches you with a knife and says, “I’m going to cut you up!” it would be reasonable to punch that person to defend yourself.

  2. The injury was not “serious”. Unfortunately, overzealous prosecutors will sometimes charge a person with the more serious crime of PC 243(d) Aggravated Battery, even when the injury is not serious. Let the criminal defense attorneys from the Law Offices of Natalio Pereira show that the injuries sustained by the alleged victim are not “serious bodily injuries”, and we can have the charges dismissed, or reduced to a PC 242 “Simple battery” Hotlink charge.

  3. Accident. “It was an accident” is a defense to many California crimes, including 242 Battery. Accidentally injuring someone is not a crime. Remember our example of driving angry and hitting a pedestrian or bicyclist? In that example, you would have been intentionally driving in a reckless manner. What if you are driving carefully, obeying the traffic laws, and a bicyclist suddenly darts in front of your car? Because hitting the bicyclist was an accident, you will not be charged with PC 242 Battery in this situation. 

What sort of penalties am I facing if convicted of 243(d) Aggravated Battery?

Remember, Penal Code 243(d) Aggravated Battery is a “wobbler”.  If convicted of misdemeanor 243(d), you may face the following penalties:

  1. California misdemeanor probation, otherwise known as “summary” or “informal” probation;

  2. Up to 1 year in county jail;

  3. Up to $2,000 in fines;

  4. Successful completion of a Batterer’s Class, or

  5. Community service.

If convicted of felony 243(d), you may face the following penalties:

  1. 2-4 years in a California state prison;

  2. Up to $10,000 in fines, and;

  3. A “strike” on your record under California’s 3 Strikes Law Hotlink.

I am a gun owner.  Can a conviction for PC 243(d) affect my right to own a gun?

Yes, potentially for life.  You may be prohibited from owning, possessing, purchasing, or receiving a firearm if convicted of PC 243(d) Aggravated Battery. Hotlink to another page called “How A Conviction Can Affect Your Gun Rights”