Personal injury may result from various events, which is why this issue has been regulated in several articles of the Criminal Code

Art. 156 of the Penal Code provides for bodily injury in the form of serious damage to health in the form of:

1. depriving a person of sight, hearing, speech, ability to produce,
2. other severe disability, severe incurable or long-term illness, life-threatening illness, permanent mental illness, complete or significant permanent disability or permanent, significant bodily disfigurement or deformity;

For the act provided for in art. 156 of the Criminal Code is punishable by imprisonment for not less than 3 years. However, if the perpetrator acted unintentionally, he shall be subject to the penalty of deprivation of liberty for up to 3 years. The provision of art. 156 of the Criminal Code also provides for restrictions, namely, if as a result of an act specified in point 1 and 2 a person has died, the perpetrator is facing imprisonment from 5 years, 25 years imprisonment or a life imprisonment.

Other cases of bodily injury, consisting in violation of bodily functions or health disorders (not mentioned in art.156 of the Criminal Code) shall be punishable by imprisonment from 3 months to 5 years. However, as provided for in art. 157 of the Penal Code, if the violation of bodily functions or health disorder lasts no more than 7 days, the perpetrator is subject to a fine, the penalty of restriction of liberty or the penalty of deprivation of liberty for up to 2 years.

It is noteworthy that if the violation of bodily functions or health disorder lasted no longer than 7 days, the prosecution of such a crime takes place solely by private prosecution.

The issue of liability for bodily injury resulting from a fight or beating was regulated separately. Just participating in a fight or beating in which a person exposes himself to the direct danger of losing his life or the consequences provided for in art. 156 of the Criminal Code is punishable by imprisonment of up to 3 years, however, if the consequence of a fight or beating is a serious damage to human health, the perpetrator is punishable by imprisonment from 6 months to 8 years (Article 158 § 2 of the Criminal Code).

By amendment of the penal code of July 8, 1999, art. 157a, regulating issues of bodily harm to a conceived child or health threatening to his life. Such an act is punishable by a fine, restriction of liberty or imprisonment for up to 2 years.

[Legal status as at April 2020]