Virginia Beach Malicious & Unlawful Wounding Defense Attorneys

Offering Strong Legal Defense to Clients in Virginia Beach

Malicious and/or unlawful wounding is when one person harms another with such severity that the skin is broken or internal organs are damaged. Additionally, the intention behind this action must be to purposely maim, disfigure, or disable the other person.

If you are accused of malicious or unlawful wounding, it's important that you contact our Virginia Beach criminal defense attorneys today. Our law firm is dedicated to providing our criminal defense clients with aggressive and strong advocacy. We will closely work with you to create a firm defense strategy.

For your case evaluation, call our firm at (757) 267-4949 today! 

Unlawful Wounding

Unlawful wounding occurs when a person causes injury to another without intending to kill the other. For example, if two parties get into a physical altercation and one cuts the other on the arm deep enough to bleed, this could be considered an unlawful wounding.

Furthermore, the plaintiff must prove, beyond a reasonable doubt, that:

1. their skin was broken as the result of the accused actions;
2. the accused used a weapon to break the plaintiff's skin; and/or
3. they suffered internal injuries as a result of the action.

This crime can either be classified as a misdemeanor or felony, depending on the severity of the injury.

Punishments include:

• up to 1 year in jail for a misdemeanor;
• 1 to 5 years in prison for a felony; or
• a fine not exceeding $2,500

Malicious Wounding

Malicious wounding contains all the factors of unlawful wounding with the added motive of intentionally attempting to seriously injure or murder the other person. For example, if someone touched another person's car and the other person reacted by severely physically harming that person (broken skin or bones), that action could be considered a malicious wounding. If the action caused the victim to become permanently disabled or ended a pregnancy, it is considered aggravated malicious wounding.

The punishments for malicious wounding include:

• 5 to 20 years in a prison;
• if the crime is aggravated, 20 years to life in prison; and/or
• a fine not exceeding $100,000.