Our expert criminal lawyers for recklessly causing grievous bodily harm offences can help you:
- Obtain bail.
- Be found not guilty.
- Receive a lenient sentence, like no conviction and no prison.
You will be represented by a team of award-winning criminal lawyers, with 500+ five-star Google reviews, who offer fixed fees and free first consultations.
You can read our reviews here.
Recklessly Causing Grievous Bodily Harm
Reckless grievous bodily harm is a serious kind of injury a person can suffer short of death. It includes paraplegia, quadriplegia and vegetative states as well as broken bones, disfigurement and other permanent injuries. There must be a reckless element causing actual bodily harm.
Ways our criminal lawyers often beat the charges of Recklessly causing grievous bodily harm is by arguing the injury is not serious enough to be considered grievous bodily harm, or by raising defences.
What is Grievous Bodily Harm?
Grievous bodily harm is a very serious injury that results in permanent disfiguring, the destruction of a foetus or any grievous bodily disease. This would include but is not limited to, broken limbs, serious psychiatric damage, brain injury, permanent disfigurement and anything that is likely to endanger life.
The Crimes Act 1900 (NSW) defines Grievous bodily harm as;
“(a) the destruction (other than in the course of a medical procedure or a termination of a pregnancy in accordance with the Abortion Law Reform Act 2019) of the foetus of a pregnant woman, whether or not the woman suffers any other harm, and
(b) any permanent or serious disfiguring of the person, and
(c) any grievous bodily disease (in which case a reference to the infliction of grievous bodily harm includes a reference to causing a person to contract a grievous bodily disease).”
While the injury must be very serious to be grievous bodily harm, it doesn’t necessarily have to be permanent or life-threatening. The court is responsible for determining whether the injury falls within the definition of grievous bodily harm or a lesser charge relating to causing actual bodily harm.
In general, grievous bodily harm is the most serious type of injury that can be caused, short of causing death.
Examples of Grievous Bodily Harm
Examples of grievous bodily harm include:
- Jaw and skull fractures.
- Serious psychological injury and/or brain damage.
- Causing Paraplegia or quadriplegia.
- Infecting someone with AIDS.
- Stabbings to organs cause life-threatening injuries.
- Facial fractures and lacerations causing permanent disfigurement, surgery, and/or ongoing pain or treatment.
- Causing a pregnant woman to lose her unborn baby or foetus.
Pleading not guilty
You will be found not guilty of the offence of recklessly causing grievous bodily harm if the police cannot prove beyond reasonable doubt:
- You caused grievous bodily harm to any person.
- You are reckless as to causing actual bodily harm to that or any other person.
Recklessness will be established if it is proven beyond a reasonable doubt that you foresaw the likelihood of actual bodily harm being inflicted and ignored the risk.
You can read more information about pleading not guilty here.
The main defence for recklessly causing grievous bodily harm with intent is that the injuries are not serious enough to amount to grievous bodily harm. Another defence for grievous bodily harm charges is self-defence.
Pleading guilty
If you plead guilty to recklessly causing grievous bodily harm, we want to achieve the best possible result for you. We will often negotiate with prosecutors for you to plead guilty to less serious charges, or even a less serious charge, so that you get a lighter sentence.
Recklessly causing grievous bodily harm carries a maximum penalty of 10 years imprisonment in the District Court.
Our criminal defence lawyers are experts at getting clients section 10 no convictions when they choose to plead guilty. This means no criminal record.
You can read more about pleading guilty here.
Do I need references?
Good character references can help reduce your sentence. That’s why we believe references are an extremely important part of a plea of guilty in court.
Character references are generally tendered without question, and almost always affect the severity of any applicable penalty, often to a marked degree. References are a golden opportunity to impress the court with what a marvellous, hardworking, family- and community-oriented person you are.
Do I need references?
We believe references are an extremely important part of a plea of guilty in court. Read about court processes and how to write a good character reference.
Contact Australian Criminal Law Group
Our criminal lawyers, with 500+ five-star Google reviews, can beat your reckless causing grievous bodily harm charge or obtain a lenient sentence for you if you plead guilty.
Call us on (02) 8815 8167 for your free first conference or submit a website enquiry
Case studies
No jail – Charge downgraded
Our lawyer represented a man charged with two counts of wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm and one count of assault occasioning actual bodily harm after he stabbed 3 people in a park following being assaulted himself at a train station. After getting him bail in the Supreme Court we negotiated pleas of guilty to charges of reckless wounding instead of Wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm. He was sentenced in the Local Court and the Magistrate gave him an Intensive Correction order and did not send him to jail.
No jail – Lack of intent
Our lawyer represented a young man charged with Wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm. He had stabbed his stepfather in the neck with a pair of scissors. Criminal lawyer Joe Correy argued that the act was impulsive in response to a domestic argument. The young man had not intended to seriously harm his stepfather. The police accepted a reckless wounding charge and our client received a good behaviour bond.
Serious charge reduced – Good behaviour bond
Our lawyer represented a man charged with grievous bodily harm after throwing a glass and striking a police officer during a brawl. He was able to negotiate the charge to reckless wounding, a significantly less serious charge. Mr Harb presented a strong case on sentence, and his client received a good behaviour bond.
No jail – Appeal successful
Our lawyer appealed the sentence of a client who had been originally charged with Wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm. In the company of another person, he had slashed a person’s face with a box cutter. On appeal, which was to a reckless wounding after negotiations with the DPP, it was argued the act of slashing at the victim was excessive self-defence. The Judge agreed and our client was released from jail that day.
Significant reduction in sentence – Charges downgraded
Our lawyer represented a person charged with robbery in a company, inflicting grievous bodily harm, and intentionally inflicting grievous bodily harm. Both offences carry a maximum penalty of 25 years’ imprisonment. He had a substantial criminal record and was facing many years in jail if sentenced for those charges. The Crown prosecutor was convinced to accept a plea of guilty to recklessly inflicting grievous bodily harm, and the client received a 2-year sentence with a 12-month non-parole period.