Legal Definitions - maim

To maim someone or something means to inflict a severe physical injury that results in permanent damage or a significant, lasting impairment of their bodily function. This type of injury goes beyond temporary harm, causing a fundamental and often irreversible change to the victim's physical capabilities or appearance.

• Example 1 (Intentional Human Injury): During a violent altercation, an assailant deliberately strikes another person's eye with a sharp object, causing irreparable damage that leads to permanent blindness in that eye.

  Explanation: This scenario illustrates maiming because the injury inflicted is severe, intentionally caused, and results in a permanent loss of a major bodily function (sight in one eye), significantly impairing the victim's physical capability.

• Example 2 (Reckless Conduct Leading to Permanent Injury): A driver, while engaging in reckless street racing, loses control of their vehicle and crashes into a pedestrian, causing injuries so severe that the pedestrian's arm must be surgically amputated.

  Explanation: Although the driver may not have specifically intended to cause such a severe injury, the outcome—the permanent loss of a limb—falls under the legal definition of maiming due to the lasting and profound physical impairment suffered by the victim.

• Example 3 (Animal Maiming): An individual, out of malice, uses a powerful snare trap to injure a neighbor's dog, resulting in the dog's leg being so badly crushed that it requires amputation by a veterinarian.

  Explanation: This example demonstrates maiming in the context of an animal, as the dog suffered a permanent injury (loss of a leg) that significantly impairs its ability to move and function, constituting lasting damage to its physical well-being.