>”Their alleged victim, who has not been named, was not injured in the attack.”
How can a 98-year-old be “hit” or “struck” without causing injuries? I have a feeling this wasn’t an attack but a fake beating, a joke in bad taste. Even bruises would count as injuries, wouldn’t they? And old people bruise very easily.
Maybe they made some kind of contact with her, which allowed the charge of aggravated assault to be brought, but I don’t believe they hit her in the ordinary sense of the word. If they are too weak to injure a 98-year-old in an attack, then they are too weak to be nurses. (Of course lack of adequate empathy may be the greater problem — not that nurses should have a lot of empathy. If they did, doing their job would be too painful. I myself couldn’t stand to work all the time with people who are suffering or dying.)
In any case what they did showed a lack of respect, and even persons who have lost much of their ability to think don’t deserve to be treated like that.
◾serious bodily injury; or ◾bodily injury.
This offense, if done "knowingly or intentionally" and results in serious bodily injury or serious mental deficiency or injury, it is considered a felony of the first degree. If convicted, this charge comes with a presumptive sentence of up to 99 years in prison and / or fines not to exceed $10,000. If the offense is done "recklessly" it is considered a felony of the second degree (up to 20 years in prison and / or a fine not to exceed $10,000).
If bodily injury (not "serious") results from "knowing or intentional" actions, it is considered a felony of the third degree, which comes with a presumptive sentence of up to 10 years in prison and a fine not to exceed $10,000. If the offense is done recklessly, the charge will be a state jail felony, which comes with a presumptive sentence of up to 2 years in jail and / or a fine not to exceed $10,000 (§12.35).
In addition, a person commits this offense if the person is an owner, operator, or employee of a nursing facility, assisted living facility, intermediate care facility, or other institutional care facility and the person intentionally, knowingly, recklessly, or with criminal negligence by omission causes to an elderly who is a resident of that group home or facility:
◾serious bodily injury;
◾serious mental deficiency, impairment, or injury;
◾bodily injury; or
◾exploitation.
Although treated as a separate offense in court, this comes with similar penalties. "Knowingly or intentionally" causing serious injury will be charged as a felony of the first degree, whereas "recklessly" committing the act will be considered a felony of the second degree.
If the offender knowingly or intentionally causes bodily injury, they will be charged with a felony of the third degree, and if they do so "recklessly" they will be charged with a state jail felony.
As for specific definitions, "elderly person" is considered an individual that is 65 years or older.