Criminal Lawyers for Basic Injury Offences (Art. 147 CP)
Specialized technical defense for basic injuries offenses (Art. 147 CP)
Art. 147 of the Spanish Criminal Code (CP) distinguishes two levels of bodily injury depending on the type of treatment required: if initial medical care alone is sufficient — cleaning the wound, stitches, a bandage, or painkillers — the conduct is a minor offence punished only with a fine of 1 to 3 months (Art. 147.2 CP); if healing requires subsequent medical or surgical treatment — prescribed physiotherapy, a cast kept in place, antibiotic treatment — it is the basic offence, with imprisonment of 3 months to 3 years or a fine of 6 to 12 months (Art. 147.1 CP). According to the Supreme Court, the removal of stitches is not considered medical treatment. Our defence challenges the medical report to secure that reduction from the basic offence to a minor offence.
You have been reported for minor injury: what happens now and what kind of hearing it ends in
Art. 147 CP sets out three tiers. If the injury objectively required medical or surgical treatment beyond initial first aid, it is an offence under Art. 147.1 CP: three months to three years in prison or a six to twelve months fine. If it did not, it is a minor offence under Art. 147.2 CP, with a one to three months fine. And striking or physically mistreating someone without causing injury falls under Art. 147.3 CP, with a one to two months fine. The last two can only be prosecuted on a complaint by the injured party or their legal representative. When handled as a minor offence, the summons is for an immediate or short-notice hearing before the investigating court, with no prior investigation phase: preparation is therefore urgent even though the penalty is a fine.
What to do (and what not to do) before making a statement
- Attend the hearing with a lawyer even though it is not compulsory. Legal representation is not compulsory at a minor-offence hearing, but a conviction leaves a criminal record and weighs on public-sector examinations, licences and renewals. Arts. 118 and 520 LECrim still protect your silence and your right to a prior confidential meeting.
- Get your own medical report the same day. In fights it is common for both parties to be injured and only one to see a doctor. The dated report is what makes it possible to argue mutual aggression or self-defence.
- Take the evidence to the hearing: there is no prior investigation. In minor-offence proceedings there is no phase in which the court gathers evidence for you. Witnesses must be proposed and must attend, and recordings must be requested before they are overwritten.
- Do not approach the complainant to have the complaint withdrawn. Even though paragraphs 2 and 3 of Art. 147 CP require a prior complaint, pressing for its withdrawal ends up in the file and can open a new front for coercion. Any agreement is arranged in writing and through the proceedings.
- If you are going to compensate the harm, document it before the hearing. The mitigation of Art. 21.5 CP must be evidenced by the time of the hearing, because a minor-offence trial ends in judgment that same day. Afterwards there is no room left.
What Are Basic Injuries: First Aid, Medical Treatment and Penalties (Art. 147 CP)
The offence of injuries ("lesiones") is the paradigmatic crime against physical integrity and is regulated in Arts. 147-156 ter of the Spanish Criminal Code. Art. 147 CP contains the basic type and, paradoxically, the most decisive provision: it draws the line between a fine (minor offence, Art. 147.2) and up to three years' prison (less-serious offence, Art. 147.1). The protected legal interest is physical integrity and health, in both bodily and psychic dimensions. Settled Supreme Court case-law repeats that the dividing line between minor and basic types is not pain or appearance of the injury, but the objective need for medical or surgical treatment for healing, beyond initial first aid.
Forms of Injury
The Code distinguishes several modalities. The basic offence of Art. 147.1 CP requires the injury to need, beyond first aid, medical or surgical treatment: prescribed rehabilitation or physiotherapy, sustained rigid immobilisation, internal suturing, antibiotic therapy for infection risk, curative psychotherapy. The minor offence of Art. 147.2 CP covers injuries requiring only first aid: wound cleaning, skin suturing, analgesia or simple bandaging. Battery without injury (Art. 147.3) punishes the simple slap with no physical result. The qualified types of Art. 148 (use of weapons or dangerous means, cruelty, particularly vulnerable victim, gender violence) raise the penalty to 2-5 years, and Arts. 149-150 punish serious injuries (loss of a principal organ, sense, sterility or deformity).
Penalties (Art. 147 CP)
Penalties mirror this structure. The basic offence of Art. 147.1 carries 3 months to 3 years' prison or fine of 6 to 12 months, generates serious criminal records cancellable in 2-3 years and, above one year of prison, makes suspension harder without mitigation. The minor offence of Art. 147.2 is punished with fine of 1 to 3 months under the day-fine system: at minimum quotas, the sanction is around 180-720€, plus civil liability (compensation for healing days, sequelae and aesthetic damage under Law 35/2015 scale). The minor offence only proceeds upon prior complaint from the victim (Art. 147.4), except in gender or domestic violence where the autonomous regime of Art. 153 CP operates (prison 6 months to 1 year, weapons ban, restraining order).
Defence Strategy
Technical defence rests on four recurring axes. First, the downgrade to a minor offence: expert challenge of the forensic report to evidence that the injury healed only with first aid, not with medical treatment; the Supreme Court has clarified that stitch removal, prescribing analgesics for pain or clinical follow-up without a curative regime do not constitute medical treatment. Second, self-defence (Art. 20.4 CP) and prior provocation by the victim (mitigating or incomplete defence under Art. 21.3 CP), especially useful in mutual fights or reciprocal injuries. Third, the animus laedendi versus animus necandi: where the prosecution seeks to elevate the case to attempted homicide, defence must show that the body part, means and direction only reveal intent to injure. Fourth, the qualified mitigating factors of reparation (Art. 21.5 CP) through early judicial consignment, which may reduce the penalty by one or two degrees.
Current Forensic Practice
In current forensic practice we observe a stricter approach to injuries in contexts of nightlife, youth violence and neighbour disputes, alongside a sustained rise in complaints for psychic injuries treated in specialised consultation. Organic Law 1/2025 on Justice Service Efficiency has reorganised the handling of speedy trials for injuries, and case-law on audiovisual evidence (CCTV, mobiles, body-cams) keeps gaining weight. At Alonso Sala, our criminal lawyers in injury offences intervene from the first legal assistance at the police station or hospital, articulate proprietary medical expertise, challenge the medical report when it overstates treatment, negotiate reduced pleas and, where appropriate, manage reparation mitigating factors. We handle each file with the diligence required in a field where a wrong classification can turn a fine into effective imprisonment.
Is First Aid (Minor Offense)
- • Wound cleaning and disinfection
- • Wound suturing (stitches) in a single act
- • Prescription of analgesics/anti-inflammatories
- • Simple bandages or emergency immobilization
- • Removal of stitches (control act)
Is Medical Treatment (Basic Crime)
- • Internal suturing or minor surgery
- • Rehabilitation or prescribed physiotherapy
- • Rigid immobilization (splint/cast) maintained
- • Antibiotic treatment (infection risk)
- • Psychotherapy or prescribed drugs
Our Defense Strategy
We analyze every health report with our medical experts. Often, the prosecution classifies as "treatment" what is actually mere monitoring or symptomatic medication. We argue the "objectivity" of the treatment necessity before the judge to achieve downgrading to a minor offense, saving the client from prison.
Why Alonso Sala for Assault?
Specialized assault defense. Expert strategy: downgrade basic to minor (fine vs. prison)
- Medical expertise: challenge treatment (physiotherapy = monitoring, not objectively curative) for minor offense.
- Downgrade to minor: only stitches + painkillers = first aid (fine 1-3m vs. prison 3m-3y).
- Reciprocal injuries defense: mutual fight (both hit) = reduced penalties for both.
- 1 year prescription: minor offense from events (if court paralyzes 1y = dismissal prescription).
Crimes Against Persons in Spain: Homicide, Assault and Threats — Defense Guide
Crimes against persons — homicide (Art. 138 CP), murder (Art. 139 CP), assault/bodily harm (Art. 147-156), and threats (Art. 169-171 CP) — are among the most severely punished offenses in Spain, frequently resulting in substantial prison sentences. A robust forensic and legal defense is critical from the first moments of arrest.
Penalty Table: Crimes Against Persons
| Offense | Article | Penalty |
|---|---|---|
| Reckless Homicide | Art. 142 | 1 – 4 years |
| Intentional Homicide | Art. 138 | 10 – 15 years |
| Murder (Asesinato) | Art. 139 | 15 – 25 years |
| Aggravated Murder | Art. 140 | Permanent Revisable Prison |
| Minor Assault | Art. 147.2 | Fine 1-3 months |
| Serious Bodily Harm | Art. 149 | 6 – 12 years |
| Criminal Threats | Art. 169 | 1 – 5 years |
Core Defense Strategies
Self-Defense (Art. 20.4 CP)
The three legal requirements are: unlawful aggression, proportional response, and no provocation. Documenting prior threats and injuries is paramount from day one.
Reclassification: Murder → Homicide
The difference between Art. 138 and 139 CP means up to 10 years' additional prison. Defense focuses on disproving premeditation, treachery, or cruelty — the three murder qualifiers.
Psychiatric Defense / Diminished Responsibility
If the accused had a mental disorder at the time of the act, total or partial irresponsibility (Art. 20.1) or diminished responsibility (Art. 21.1) significantly reduce or eliminate the sentence.
Forensic Medical Evidence
Independent autopsy, injury assessment, and toxicology reports often contradict expert testimony submitted by the prosecution. A second forensic medical opinion is always recommended in serious cases.
FAQs
What is considered 'first aid'?
What is considered 'medical treatment'?
If I'm prescribed ibuprofen, is it treatment?
Are stitches treatment?
Do I get a criminal record for a minor injury offense?
How much is the fine for minor offense?
What if it was a mutual fight with reciprocal aggression?
Does the minor offense prescribe?
Can I be arrested for a minor offense?
If I hit my partner, is it a minor offense?
What if the victim doesn't show up at trial?
Does rehab count as treatment?
Is a scar a basic or minor crime?
Can I settle and pay to avoid trial?
What if I lose a tooth from a punch?
Does stress or anxiety count as injury?
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