Opinion ID: 3003976
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Injury Enhancements

Text: Eubanks contests the district court’s application of injury enhancements for both Counts 12 and 14. He argues the district court erred by assessing a three-level enhancement in Count 12 (the beauty supply store robbery) based on a finding that the victim sustained an injury between bodily injury and serious bodily injury. See 10 No. 09-1029 U.S.S.G. § 2B3.1(b)(3). Eubanks contends that the victim’s injuries in Count 12, which included bruises and lacerations to the victim’s head, were more akin to bodily injury, warranting a two-level enhancement. Id. He also argues that the district court erred by increasing two levels for bodily injury in Count 14 (the jewelry store robbery). In that robbery, Eubanks dragged a store employee by her hair causing head pain, scraped and bloodied knees, bruises on her arms, and damaged fingernails and hands. The injuries did not require medical attention. According to Eubanks, the record shows these injuries were minor, rather than significant, and thus a two-level increase was excessive. The guidelines define “bodily injury” as “any significant injury; e.g., an injury that is painful and obvious, or is of a type for which medical attention ordinarily would be sought.” U.S.S.G. § 1B1.1, comment (n.1(B)). “Serious bodily injury” is defined as an injury involving “extreme physical pain” or “requiring medical intervention such as surgery, hospitalization, or physical rehabilitation.” U.S.S.G. § 1B1.1, comment (n.1(L)). As noted, a bodily injury enhancement requires a two-level increase, while a serious bodily injury enhancement carries a four-level increase. U.S.S.G. § 2B3.1(b)(3). In Count 12, the district court considered the victim’s affidavit and a photograph of the victim’s injuries in determining the extent of the injuries. The court held that because the bruises and lacerations required medical attention, including four staples to close the head wound, and because the victim almost lost conNo. 09-1029 11 sciousness, the injury fell somewhere in the continuum between “bodily injury” and “serious bodily injury,” and so the court assessed a three-level increase. The district court was well within its discretion in finding that the injuries were greater than a “significant” but not quite “serious.” See e.g., United States v. Ledford, 218 F.3d 684, 691 (7th Cir. 2000) (bodily injury where victim suffered “bruising on her side and arm”); United States v. Bogan, 267 F.3d 614, 624 (7th Cir. 2001) (serious bodily injury where victim suffered lacerations requiring sutures, a fractured eye-socket, emotional distress, migraine headaches, and the potential loss of teeth). The district court is in the best position to make this factual determination after viewing the relevant evidence. See United States v. Hamm, 13 F.3d 1126, 1128 (7th Cir. 1994) (“Because the district court hears this evidence, it is by far best-suited to assess these myriad factors and determine whether a ‘significant injury’ has occurred.”) (quoting United States v. Lancaster, 6 F.3d 208, 210 (4th Cir. 1993)). The district court’s three-level enhancement in Count 12 was entirely appropriate. Similarly, in Count 14, the district court examined an affidavit and photographs of the victim’s injuries in determining that a bodily injury enhancement was warranted. The court found that the victim’s scrapes and bruises amounted to significant injuries that were “painful and obvious.” Our case law supports this finding. See Ledford, 218 F.3d at 691; Hamm, 13 F.3d at 1127-28 (finding bodily injury where victim “suffered bumps and bruises and had the wind knocked out of him as a result of being hit and knocked down” and “sustained a back injury 12 No. 09-1029 requiring chiropractic treatment”). And, once again, because we largely defer to the district court on this factspecific inquiry, absent clear evidence to the contrary, the finding should not be disturbed on appeal. See Hamm, 13 F.3d at 1128. The two-level bodily injury enhancement in Count 14 was thus proper.