Assault Resulting in Serious Bodily Injury – 18 U.S.C. § 113(a)(6) Sentencing Guidelines

Thanks for visiting Spodek Law Group, a second-generation firm managed by Todd Spodek with over 40 years of combined experience defending clients in cases where medical evidence determines prison time. When federal prosecutors charge assault resulting in serious bodily injury under 18 U.S.C. § 113(a)(6), they must prove the victim suffered injuries involving substantial risk of death, extreme physical pain, protracted disfigurement, or protracted loss of bodily function. Maximum sentence: **10 years**. The constitutional question isn’t whether serious injuries warrant serious punishment—they do. It’s whether “serious bodily injury” has become so elastic that prosecutors manipulate medical terminology to transform moderate injuries into decade-maximum felonies.

Serious vs. Bodily Injury: The Line That Determines Everything

Federal assault statutes distinguish between bodily injury (any physical pain or impairment) and *serious* bodily injury (substantial risk of death or other enumerated harms). That distinction separates 6-month misdemeanors from 10-year felonies. Someone who punches another person, causing a black eye and swelling, inflicted bodily injury. Someone who punches another person, breaking their jaw and requiring surgical repair, likely inflicted serious bodily injury. But what about punches causing concussions? Broken noses? Fractured ribs that heal in six weeks? Those cases fall in gray zones where prosecution and defense present competing medical evidence.

Courts apply the statutory definition from 18 U.S.C. § 1365(h)(3):

• **Substantial risk of death** – Injuries creating genuine possibility the victim could have died, even if they ultimately survived. Stab wounds to vital organs, severe head trauma, injuries causing significant blood loss.
• **Extreme physical pain** – Pain so severe and prolonged it substantially impairs functioning. Not brief acute pain (like getting punched), but sustained agony requiring narcotic pain management and limiting daily activities for weeks or months.
• **Protracted disfigurement** – Permanent or long-lasting scarring, facial injuries, loss of teeth, damage affecting appearance. “Protracted” means lasting—injuries healing within weeks without visible scarring typically don’t qualify.
• **Protracted loss or impairment of bodily function** – Injuries affecting ability to walk, use hands, see, hear, speak, or perform bodily functions for extended periods. Temporary impairments lasting days generally don’t meet the threshold; those lasting months do.

The critical word throughout: *protracted*. Courts interpret this as “prolonged” or “drawn out,” not momentary or brief. Defense attorneys emphasize healing timelines, demonstrating that injuries—while painful—resolved relatively quickly and didn’t permanently affect victims’ lives.

Medical Evidence Drives These Cases

Prosecutors present emergency room records, surgical reports, physician testimony, and follow-up medical documentation proving injury severity. They highlight dramatic language: “substantial blood loss,” “risk of permanent disability,” “required surgical intervention,” “prolonged recovery anticipated.” That medical terminology, even when describing conditions that ultimately heal completely, creates impressions of life-threatening violence.

Defense must present competing medical analysis. Questions to explore with medical experts:

• *What percentage of similar injuries prove fatal or cause permanent impairment?* If 99% of such injuries heal completely, claiming “substantial risk of death” overstates danger.
• *How long did pain actually persist?* Medical records showing patients discontinued pain medication after two weeks undermine “extreme physical pain” claims.
• *Did disfigurement actually last?* Photographs taken months after assault showing minimal scarring contradict “protracted disfigurement” allegations.
• *When did bodily function return to normal?* Documentation that victims returned to work, resumed physical activities, or regained full function within weeks suggests impairment wasn’t “protracted.”

Federal Sentencing: Same Base as Aggravated Assault

Under §2A2.2 of the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, assault resulting in serious bodily injury receives base offense level 14. Enhancements apply based on injury severity and weapon use:

• **+2 levels** if the victim sustained permanent or life-threatening bodily injury (beyond the “serious” threshold already established)
• **+4 levels** if a dangerous weapon was used
• **+4 levels** if the assault involved more than minimal planning

At offense level 14 (Category I), sentences range 15-21 months. With dangerous weapon enhancement (level 18), sentences jump to 27-33 months. With acceptance of responsibility (−3 levels), an offense level 15 defendant (serious injury with no weapon) faces 10-16 months.

The permanent/life-threatening injury enhancement (+2 levels) creates a subcategory of serious bodily injury. Not all serious injuries qualify—only those causing lasting harm or creating genuine risk of death. Evidence that victims fully recovered, returned to pre-assault health, and suffer no ongoing complications defeats this enhancement. Prosecutors bear the burden of proving permanent or life-threatening status; defense should demand specific medical findings supporting that conclusion.

Challenging Serious Bodily Injury Findings

Here’s where defense work matters: contesting whether injuries actually meet the statutory threshold. If you can demonstrate injuries were “bodily” but not “serious,” prosecutors should reduce charges to simple assault (§ 113(a)(5), 6 months maximum) or assault by striking/beating (§ 113(a)(4), 1 year maximum). That charge reduction—from 10 years to 1 year maximum—changes plea calculations entirely.

Evidence supporting lesser charges:

• *Outpatient treatment only* – Victims released same day from emergency rooms without admission suggest injuries weren’t life-threatening or requiring intensive care
• *Minimal follow-up care* – One or two follow-up appointments indicate straightforward recovery without complications
• *Quick return to normal activities* – Documentation showing victims returned to work, school, or daily routines within days undermines claims of extreme pain or protracted impairment
• *No permanent effects* – Medical clearances stating victims healed completely without restrictions defeat “protracted” allegations

Prosecutors resist these arguments by pointing to initial medical reports describing injuries as “serious” or “potentially life-threatening.” Defense must show those characterizations reflected precautionary assessments at time of treatment, not actual outcomes. The fact that doctors initially worried about complications doesn’t prove serious bodily injury if those complications never materialized and victims recovered fully.

The Bruise Problem

Can extensive bruising constitute serious bodily injury? Courts split. Some hold that bruises, no matter how painful or widespread, heal without permanent effects and don’t create substantial risk of death—therefore they’re bodily injury but not serious. Others find that massive bruising covering large body areas and causing weeks of pain and limited mobility meets the “extreme physical pain” or “protracted impairment” standards.

When prosecutors charge serious bodily injury based primarily on bruising, defense should emphasize: bruises are temporary discoloration from capillary bleeding, they heal through natural processes within weeks, they don’t impair organ function or create mortality risk, and they don’t cause the kind of extreme pain that narcotic analgesia typically treats. Present medical literature on bruise healing timelines to demonstrate their transient nature.

Sentencing Mitigation When Injury Is Proven

Suppose the court finds serious bodily injury occurred and convicts under § 113(a)(6). How do you minimize sentences?

*Emphasize lack of intent to cause serious injury.* If the defendant intended to push or strike the victim but didn’t anticipate the resulting harm (victim fell and hit their head, pre-existing conditions worsened injuries), that lack of intent mitigates culpability. The statute requires assault resulting in serious bodily injury, not intent to cause such injury—but sentencing courts consider intent when exercising discretion under § 3553(a).

*Highlight victim recovery.* If victims fully recovered, provide updated medical reports and photographs showing healthy, unmarked individuals living normal lives. While past suffering matters, complete recovery demonstrates harm was temporary, not the permanent devastation prosecutors sometimes allege.

*Present remorse and restitution.* Demonstrating that defendants accepted responsibility, apologized to victims, and paid medical expenses voluntarily suggests rehabilitation and reduces likelihood of future violence. That evidence matters for downward variances.

Todd Spodek built this firm defending clients where medical evidence drove sentencing—cases where the difference between “bodily injury” and “serious bodily injury” determined whether clients served months or years. Our representation taught us that prosecutors often accept initial emergency room assessments at face value without investigating how injuries actually healed. Challenging those conclusions requires subpoenaing complete medical records, consulting independent medical experts, documenting victims’ recoveries through surveillance and social media showing them engaging in normal activities, and presenting evidence that “serious” characterizations were precautionary rather than accurate. If you’re charged with assault resulting in serious bodily injury, contact us immediately. Medical evidence deteriorates—witnesses forget details, records get archived, photographs of healed injuries don’t get taken unless defense requests them. We’re available 24/7 because in these cases, early investigation determines whether you’re fighting 10-year felonies or negotiating to misdemeanors.