Aggravated Battery

Aggravated Battery is a second degree felony under Florida law, punishable by up to 15 years in the Florida Department of Corrections.  Pursuant to Florida Statute, Florida’s aggravated battery statute contains all of the elements of the battery statute with the addition that the Defendant knowingly or intentionally caused great bodily harm, permanent disability, or permanent disfigurement or a battery OR the person uses a deadly weapon while committing a battery.  In addition, a person also commits aggravated battery if the person who was the victim of the battery was pregnant at the time of the offense and the offender knew or should have known that the victim was pregnant.  This last section of the statute is often a hotly contested element in an aggravated battery because the Defendant doesn’t always know that the victim is pregnant.