Brazil courts raise damages in assault, accident and animal‑attack cases

Brazilian courts issued several rulings that increased compensation for victims of violent or accidental injuries. The Minas Gerais State Court upheld a conviction for forced‑kiss sexual assault, ordering a one‑year sentence and R$ 1,500 in moral damages. A São Paulo civil court affirmed a R$ 15,000 moral‑damage award to a woman struck in the face by a knife at a churrascaria.

Criminal proceedings also advanced: a bus driver on the BR‑040 was formally charged with four counts of involuntary homicide and eight counts of bodily injury after an accident that killed four people and injured dozens. In another case, police arrested a driver responsible for a fatal hit‑and‑run on the BR‑369, who faces homicide charges. Civil liability decisions included a R$ 10,000 moral‑damage award to a woman attacked by three pit‑bulls in Mato Grosso, and a R$ 50,000 increase in compensation (plus ongoing medical costs and a monthly pension) for a passenger severely injured in a 2007 bus‑truck collision on the BR‑262. Additionally, a driver in Natal was ordered to pay R$ 3,800 for damaging a bus driver’s cellphone after a traffic accident.