Open AccessMedical manslaughter: a recent history
Author(s) -
Simon Edwards
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
bulletin of the royal college of surgeons of england
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 1478-7075
pISSN - 1473-6357
DOI - 10.1308/rcsbull.2014.96.4.118
Subject(s) - medical negligence , subject (documents) , health professionals , law , res ipsa loquitur , criminology , health care , medicine , psychology , political science , liability , tort , library science , computer science
While it remains rare that a healthcare professional is struck off or prosecuted for clinical negligence, criminal prosecutions for medical negligence through the offence of gross negligence manslaughter are even rarer. Although few in number, these cases are often the subject of intense media attention and show a trend towards increasingly severe sentences, with the most recent cases involving custodial terms. The ramifications of recent rulings for healthcare professionals could be profound.