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ALTHOUGH THERE WAS EVIDENCE THE VICTIM’S JAW WAS FRACTURED, THERE WAS INSUFFICIENT PROOF THE VICTIM SUFFERED “SERIOUS PHYSICAL INJURY” WITHIN THE MEANING OF PENAL LAW SECTION 10 (10); DEFENDANT’S ASSAULT SECOND CONVICTION WAS REDUCED TO ASSAULT THIRD (THIRD DEPT).

The Third Department, finding that the proof the victim suffered “serious physical injury” in this assault case insufficient, reduced defendant’s conviction from assault second to assault third. There was evidence the victim suffered a fractured jaw which was wired shut for weeks. But the evidence did not establish a “protracted impairment of health or … function of any bodily organ:”

As to the victim’s injuries, an oral surgeon who examined the victim diagnosed him with a fracture to the left side of his mandible, consistent with facial trauma, and performed a surgical procedure to wire the victim’s jaw shut. The victim testified that his jaw was wired shut for several weeks and that he was unable to eat solid food for six weeks, causing him to lose approximately 25 pounds. At the trial, which was approximately 10 months after the incident, the victim continued to experience very occasional pain that he described as similar to arthritis. Although we do not minimize the trauma and pain suffered by the victim, the record is devoid of evidence about the injury’s effect on the victim’s daily living to support a finding that he sustained a “protracted impairment of health or . . . of the function of any bodily organ” (Penal Law § 10.00 [10] …). Consequently, we are constrained to find that the verdict convicting defendant of assault in the second degree is against the weight of the evidence, as the record does not establish that the victim suffered a “serious physical injury,” as that term is defined in Penal Law § 10.00 (10) … . People v Dillon, 2024 NY Slip Op 05246, Third Dept 10-24-24

Practice Point: Consult this decision to gain some insight into what “serious physical injury” means as an element of Assault 2nd.​

 

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