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Whosoever by any unlawful or negligent act, or omission, causes grievous bodily harm to any person, shall be liable to imprisonment for two years.
Penalty:
Imprisonment for 2 years
Summary/Indictable/mixed:
Mixed
Jurisdiction:
Local, District or Supreme Court
How committed:
This offence is committed when:
- a person acts negligently or unlawfully, and
- caused a really serious injury to a person
As an example, this offence could be committed where:
- A pedestrian’s actions result in a traffic accident that causes a really serious injury,
- A driver commits a traffic offence that results in a really serious injury, or
- A person negligently creates a dangerous situation on a building site, and a person is seriously injured
Important note:
Where the negligent or unlawful act is related to driving, the person would usually be charged with Negligent Drive Occasioning Grievous Bodily Harm, or Dangerous Drive Occasioning Grievous Bodily Harm. This offence covers some conduct that does not quite fit within those sections, the best example of which is a pedestrian.
Sometimes conduct related to driving does not neatly fit within “negligence” or “dangerousness”. This offence is often charged as a “backup” to those generally more serious offences.
The offence also covers conduct entirely unrelated to driving, although it is rarely laid by police in other circumstances.
grievous bodily harm means:
(a) Destruction of a foetus other than by approved medical procedure,
(b) Permanent or serious disfiguring of the person,