What is negligent injury?

Negligent Injury It is a type of offence regulated under Article 89 of the Turkish Penal Code. Injuring a person without foreseeing and intending the result in violation of the obligation of attention and care constitutes the offence of negligent injury.

Intentional Injury: If a person intentionally and willingly injures another person by foreseeing the result, it constitutes the offence of intentional injury and the penalty is higher than negligent injury. The offence of intentional injury is recorded in the judicial record, that is, it appears in the criminal record, and also causes the person to have a disadvantageous position compared to people without a criminal record in the execution of subsequent offences.

Simple Negligent Injury: The injury that occurs without foreseeing the result is characterised as simple negligent injury.

Conscious Negligent Injury: Although the result is foreseen, if the person commits the act of injury (by acting carelessly and carelessly due to the belief that the result will not occur), it is characterised as conscious negligent injury.

The offence of negligent injury and its penalty are regulated in the law as follows:

Negligent injury

Article 89- (1) Any person who, by negligence, inflicts pain on the body of another person or causes impairment of health or perception shall be sentenced to imprisonment from three months to one year or to a judicial fine.

(2) The act of causing injury by negligence

a) Permanent impairment of the function of one of the senses or organs,

b) Broken bones in the body,

c) Persistent difficulty with speech,

d) Fixed scar on the face,

e) A life-threatening situation,

f) The premature birth of a child of a pregnant woman,

If caused, the penalty determined according to the first paragraph shall be increased by half.

(3) The act of causing injury by negligence

a) A disease from which there is no possibility of recovery or a vegetative state,

b) Loss of function of one of the senses or organs,

c) loss of the ability to speak or to have children,

d) The constant change of his face,

e) The miscarriage of a pregnant woman,

If caused, the penalty determined according to the first paragraph shall be increased by one fold.

(4) If the act causes injury to more than one person, imprisonment from six months to three years shall be sentenced.

(5) (Amended: 6/12/2006 – 5560/5 Art.) Investigation and prosecution of the offence of negligent wounding is subject to complaint. However, no complaint is required if the offence is committed with conscious negligence, except for the injury falling within the scope of the first paragraph.

Article 89 of the Turkish Penal Code No. 5237

Negligence is defined in Article 22 of the Turkish Penal Code as follows:

Negligence

Article 22- (1) Acts committed by negligence shall be punishable in cases where the law clearly states so.

(2) Negligence is the performance of an act without foreseeing the consequence specified in the legal definition of the offence due to breach of the duty of care and attention.

(3) There is conscious negligence if the result occurs despite the fact that the person did not intend the foreseen result; in this case, the penalty for the negligent offence is increased from one third to one half.

(4) The punishment for an offence committed by negligence shall be determined according to the fault of the perpetrator.

(5) In offences committed by more than one person through negligence, each person shall be responsible for his own fault. The penalty for each perpetrator shall be determined separately according to his fault.

(6) No penalty shall be imposed if the consequence caused as a result of the negligent act has caused the perpetrator to be victimised to such an extent that it is unnecessary to impose a further penalty, exclusively in terms of the personal and family situation of the perpetrator; in case of conscious negligence, the penalty to be imposed may be reduced from half to one-sixth.

Article 22 of the Turkish Penal Code No. 5237

Examples of Negligent Injury

• If the car used in violation of traffic rules causes injury to another person as a result of a traffic accident, it constitutes the offence of negligent injury.
• The physician’s negligent performance of the medical profession by acting against the requirements of medicine due to carelessness, inexperience or indifference is called malpractice, and if the patient suffers harm as a result, the offence of negligent injury occurs.
• The offence of injury by instalment occurs if the worker is injured in an occupational accident that occurs due to the employer’s failure to take occupational health and safety measures in the workplace and to establish the rules to be followed in the workplace.

This content has been automatically translated into English from the Turkish original.