Circular No. 20/2014/TT-BYT stipulates the percentage rate of bodily injury used in forensic medical examination and forensic psychiatric examination.

CIRCULAR

Regulations on the percentage rate of bodily injury for forensic medical examination and forensic psychiatric examination

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Based on the Law on Forensic Appraisal No. 13/2012/QH13 dated June 20, 2012;

Pursuant to the Government Decree No. 85/2013/NĐ-CP dated July 29, 2013 detailing and guiding the implementation of the Forensic Appraisal Law;

This Circular prescribes procedures for receiving, providing health care for domestic violence victims and statistical reports on domestic violence victims at medical facilities.

At the proposal of the Director of the Department of Medical Examination and Treatment Management,

The Minister of Health issues this Circular regulating percentage ratios of body injury for use in medico-legal and psychiatric forensic examinations.

Article 1. Provisions on the percentage rate of bodily injury

1. The accompanying Circular provides the percentage rate (%) of bodily injury for use in forensic medical examination and forensic psychiatric examination as follows:

a) Table 1: Percentage rate of bodily injury due to trauma;

b) Table 2: Percentage rate of bodily injury due to illness or disability.

2. In this Circular, the percentage rate of bodily injury (hereinafter referred to as the percentage rate of bodily injury) includes: the percentage rate of health impairment; the percentage rate of disability; the percentage rate of injury; the percentage rate of bodily injury due to trauma, illness, or disability.

Article 2. Principles of Appraisal

1. Forensic examination to determine the percentage rate of bodily injury must be conducted on the subject requiring examination, except in cases provided for in Clause 2 of this Article.

2. Forensic examination to determine the percentage rate of bodily injury shall be conducted through (on) the file in cases where the person requiring examination has died or disappeared or in other cases as prescribed by relevant laws. When conducting an examination through the file, the percentage rate of bodily injury shall be determined at the lowest limit of the range corresponding to the percentage rates of bodily injury issued with this Circular.

3. The percentage ratio of body injury shall be determined at the time of appraisal.

Article 3. Principles for determining the percentage rate of bodily injury

1. The total percentage rate of bodily injury of a person shall not exceed 100%.

2. Each injury to a body organ and each sequela caused by such injury shall only be counted once in the percentage rate of bodily injury. If the injury to the first organ causes complications in a second organ, the additional percentage rate of bodily injury due to the sequela in the second organ shall be calculated.

3. If multiple injuries are symptoms of a syndrome or a disease listed in the percentage tables stipulated in Article 1 of this Circular, the percentage rate of bodily injury shall be determined according to the syndrome or the disease.

4. When calculating the percentage rate of bodily injury, only two decimal places shall be taken. The final result shall be rounded off to obtain a whole number for the total percentage rate of bodily injury (if the decimal place is greater than or equal to 5, it shall be rounded up by one unit).

5. When calculating the percentage rate of bodily injury of a symmetrical body part or organ that functions in cooperation, if one side is injured or has a pre-existing condition, the percentage rate of bodily injury of the injured or pre-existing condition side shall also be included.

Example: A person who had a left kidney removed previously, if now suffers an injury requiring removal of the right kidney, the percentage rate of bodily injury shall be calculated as the loss of both kidneys.

6. During the examination, based on the actual injury and the impact of the injury on the life and profession of the examined subject, the examiner shall evaluate and determine the percentage rate of bodily injury as prescribed in this Circular.

Article 4. Method for determining the percentage rate of bodily injury

1. The determination of the percentage of body damage rate is calculated according to the addition method as follows:

Total percentage rate of bodily injury = T1 + T2 + T3 +...+ Tn

Where:

a) T1: Percentage rate of bodily injury of the first injury: T1 is determined as the percentage rate within the range of percentage rates of bodily injury;

b) T2: Percentage rate of bodily injury of the second injury: T2 = (100 - T1) x percentage rate of the second injury / 100;

c) T3: Percentage rate of bodily injury of the third injury: T3 = (100 - T1 - T2) x percentage rate of the third injury / 100;

d) Tn: Percentage rate of bodily injury of the nth injury: Tn = {100 - T1 - T2 - T3 -... - T(n-1)} x percentage rate of the nth injury / 100.

2. Example: Mr. Nguyen Van D was found to have three injuries:

- Amputation of the middle third of the right arm, percentage rate of bodily injury from 61% to 65%;

- Blindness in the left eye without enucleation, percentage rate of bodily injury is 41%;

- Moderate hearing loss in both ears at level I, within the range of percentage of body damage rate from 21% to 25%.

Applying the method above, the total percentage rate of bodily injury of Mr. Nguyen Van D is calculated as follows:

- T1 = 63% (percentage rate of bodily injury specified in this Circular from 61% to 65%, the examiner may assess and determine the percentage rate of bodily injury as 61%, 62%, 63%, 64%, or 65%. In this case, the examiner takes the percentage rate of bodily injury as 63%);

- T2 = (100 - 63) x 41/100 % = 15.17 % (result taken to two decimal places);

- T3: Moderate hearing loss in both ears level I, percentage rate of bodily injury specified in this Circular from 21% to 25%. The examiner may assess and determine the percentage rate of bodily injury within the range of 21% to 25%. In this case, if the examiner takes the percentage rate of bodily injury as 22%, then the percentage rate of bodily injury of Mr. D is calculated as:

- T3 = (100 - 63 - 15.17) x 22/100 % = 4.80%

The total percentage rate of bodily injury of Mr. Nguyen Van D is: 63% + 15.17% + 4.80% = 82.97%, rounded to 83%.

Conclusion: The percentage rate of bodily injury of Mr. Nguyen Van D is 83%.

Article 5. Effective Date

This Circular takes effect from August 15, 2014.

Article 6. Implementation Organization

1. The Department of Medical Examination and Treatment shall take the lead and coordinate with related agencies and units to be responsible for guiding and organizing the implementation of this Circular throughout the country.

2. The National Institute of Forensic Medicine, the Central Institute of Forensic Psychiatry shall be responsible for guiding, directing, and supervising the professional and technical aspects of forensic medicine and forensic psychiatry for the Military Institute of Forensic Medicine under the Ministry of Defense, the Forensic Science Center under the Ministry of Public Security, and organizations conducting forensic examinations and forensic psychiatric examinations nationwide in accordance with the provisions of this Circular.

During the implementation process, if there are difficulties or obstacles, units and localities need to promptly reflect to the Ministry of Health (Department of Medical Examination and Treatment) for guidance and resolution./.