MEDICOLEGAL CLASSIFICATION OF WOUNDS: INDIAN PERSPECTIVE

MEDICOLEGAL CLASSIFICATION OF WOUNDS: INDIAN PERSPECTIVE

Simple wounds
These wounds are those which commonly occur in day to day life and when caused by other, heal rapidly without incapacitating a person from his work for more than two weeks.

Dangerous Wounds
Wounds are larger in size and more severe than Simple wounds. Generally, they are often fatal wounds, and in all cases, there is apprehension of danger to life. This fact should be at once intimated to the local Magistrate through local police station and arrangements made for recording – Dying Declaration. Danger to life should be considered imminent in compound fracture of the skull, wounds involving a large artery, rupture of internal organs etc. Injuries which prove fatal by causing inter current diseases or complication like Tetanus, Gas Gangrene etc. are not considered as immediately dangerous.

Grievous Hurt
It is a special type of dangerous wound. These are the injuries or bodily pain, which commonly cause the sufferer to have either permanent damage or loss of a part of the body or incapacitates him from doing his normal work (i.e., attending nature’s call, etc.) for more than 20 days. It may be mentioned that all dangerous wounds may also be grievous in nature but all grievous hurts may not be dangerous wounds.

Conditions
1. Emasculation – Injuries to the testis, deprivation of masculinity of a person by castration or cutting off of the male organ (cutting off of Pudendum also comes under this heading).
Injury to the spinal cord involving Lumbar segments which may result in impotency is also important.
2. Permanent privation of sight of one or both eyes.
3. Permanent privation of hearing of one or both ears.
4. Permanent privation of any member of joint.
5. Permanent impairment or destruction of the power of any joint or any member of joint.
6. Permanent disfigurement of the head or face.
7. Fracture of a bone or dislocation of tooth.
Whether Cutting off of a bone is a grievous hurt, with cut not extending up to the medullary canal and with cut not extending up to the medullary canal and separation of suture between the skull bones (dislocation between two cranial bones) is a grievous hurt or not is a critical legal question.
8. Any hurt, which endangers life or causes the sufferer to be during the space of 20 days in severe bodily pain that render him unable to follow his ordinary pursuits. (Ordinary pursuits, i.e., ordinary work to which he is accustomed during his day to day life).

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