CALCRIM No. 3161

Paralyzed (Pen. Code, § 12022.7(b))

If you find the defendant guilty of the crime[s] charged in Count[s]

[,] [or of attempting to commit (that/those) crime[s]][or the lesser

crime[s] of <insert name[s] of alleged lesser offense[s]>], you

must then decide whether[, for each crime,] the People have proved the

additional allegation that the defendant personally inflicted great bodily

injury that caused <insert name of injured person> to become

(comatose/ [or] permanently paralyzed). [Y ou must decide whether the

People have proved this allegation for each crime and return a separate

finding for each crime.]

To prove this allegation, the People must prove that:

1. The defendant personally inflicted great bodily injury on

<insert name of injured person> during the

commission [or attempted commission] of the crime;

[AND]

2. The defendant’s acts caused <insert name of injured

person> to (become comatose due to brain injury/ [or] suffer

permanent paralysis)(./;)

<Give element 3 when instructing on whether injured person was an

accomplice.>

[AND

3. <insert name of injured person> was not an

accomplice to the crime.]

Great bodily injury means significant or substantial physical injury. It is

an injury that is greater than moderate harm.

[Paralysis is a major or complete loss of motor function resulting from

injury to the nervous system or to a muscular mechanism.]

<Group Assault>

[If you conclude that more than one person assaulted

<insert name of injured person> and you cannot decide which person

caused which injury, you may conclude that the defendant personally

inflicted great bodily injury on <insert name of injured

person> if the People have proved that:

1. Two or more people, acting at the same time, assaulted

<insert name of injured person> and inflicted great

bodily injury on (him/her);

2. The defendant personally used physical force on

<insert name of injured person> during the group assault;

AND

[3A. The amount or type of physical force the defendant used on

<insert name of injured person> was enough that it

alone could have caused <insert name of injured

person> to suffer great bodily injury(;/.)]

[OR]

[3B. The physical force that the defendant used on

<insert name of injured person> was sufficient in combination with

the force used by the others to cause <insert name of

injured person> to suffer great bodily injury.]

The defendant must have applied substantial force to

<insert name of injured person>. If that force could not have caused or

contributed to the great bodily injury, then it was not substantial.]

[A person is an accomplice if he or she is subject to prosecution for the

identical crime charged against the defendant. Someone is subject to

prosecution if he or she personally committed the crime or if:

1. He or she knew of the criminal purpose of the person who

committed the crime;

AND

2. He or she intended to, and did in fact, (aid, facilitate, promote,

encourage, or instigate the commission of the crime/ [or]

participate in a criminal conspiracy to commit the crime).]

<If there is an issue in the case over whether the defendant inflicted the

injury “during the commission of” the offense, see Bench Notes.>

2. The People have the burden of proving each allegation beyond a

reasonable doubt. If the People have not met this burden, you

must find that the allegation has not been proved.

New January 2006; Revised June 2007, December 2008, September 2020, March

2024,* October 2025

* Denotes changes only to bench notes and other commentaries.