Negligence involves an official's dishonest or careless attitude to his work, resulting in harm to another person or his property. The reasons for negligence may be insufficient competence of a specialist, incorrect assessment of the seriousness of the situation, or simple laziness. Medical negligence is especially dangerous because it can lead to significant harm to a person's health or death.
Negligence in the Criminal Code
The Russian Criminal Code does not provide for a separate article due to the negligence of medical workers. At the same time, in accordance with Art. 21 of the Labor Code, a physician, like any other employee, must conscientiously perform his job duties. Unfair execution of professional instructions, regulations and other regulations may become a reason for initiating a criminal case under Article 293 of the Criminal Code.
Objective side of the crime
It is expressed in failure to fulfill any duties of the position due to inattention, carelessness and other disrespectful reasons. A mandatory feature of the objective side is also adverse consequences expressed in violation of the rights and legitimate interests of citizens.
To qualify medical negligence under Article 293 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, a direct causal connection must be established between the doctor’s actions and the resulting consequences. In practice, it is not easy to prove, since the line between negligence and justified medical risk is very difficult to establish.
If the result of medical negligence was the infliction of serious harm to health or the death of the patient, such actions are qualified under Part 2 of Article 293, the death of 2 or more persons - under Part 3 of Article 293.
Object of crime
The object is the doctor’s duties, which he does not perform properly. Additional objects are human health and life.
Subjective side
Such a crime is committed through negligence, that is, the doctor did not want to cause harm to the health of his patient, but with the care required of him, he could have prevented the occurrence of adverse consequences.
If a doctor intentionally harms a patient, such actions are considered as intentional harm to health and are punished in accordance with other articles of the Criminal Code.
Why a doctor can be held liable for negligence - a lawyer from the Moscow Association of Traumatologists and Orthopedists will tell you:
Subject of the crime
Only a medical worker who is an official can be held criminally liable for medical negligence under Article 293 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. For example, a doctor prescribed an injectable drug that was administered to a patient by a nurse. The drug caused anaphylactic shock and the patient died. If the patient’s card indicated intolerance to a given drug, and the doctor did not carefully study this information, he may be held accountable under Article 293 of the Criminal Code. The nurse is not responsible in this case, since she is not an official. You can read more about improper provision of medical care on our website.
What is negligence from a legal point of view?
In criminal law, negligence is considered a crime and is subject to punishment if significant damage (material, moral, physical) was caused as a result.
That is, negligence is understood as the improper performance by a citizen of his official duties due to dishonest or careless attitude towards his work activity.
In Russia, negligence is a criminal offense for which liability is provided under Art. 293 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.
Liability for medical negligence
note
Proof of a medical error can be medical documents (test results, patient medical records, receipts, prescriptions, etc.). Witnesses, who can be both patients and staff of a medical institution, can also prove the words of the victim. For more information on where to go in case of a medical error, read the article here.
As mentioned above, depending on the severity of the consequences, medical negligence can be qualified under various parts of Article 293 of the Criminal Code.
Part one provides for the following types of liability:
- Fine up to 120 thousand rubles;
- Mandatory work;
- Correctional work;
- Arrest for 3 months.
Negligence of a doctor resulting in the death of a patient or causing grievous harm to health, Part 2 of Article 293 provides for the following penalties:
- Forced labor + deprivation of the right to practice medicine for up to 3 years;
- Imprisonment for up to 5 years + similar additional punishment.
- Negligence leading to the death of two or more people, in accordance with Part 3, is punishable by:
- Forced labor;
- Imprisonment for up to 7 years.
Additionally, deprivation of the opportunity to engage in medical activities is imposed for 3 years.
In addition, victims can bring the doctor to civil liability. In court, the victim himself or the relatives of the deceased patient can recover moral and material damages from the doctor.
Important! A doctor’s refusal to admit a patient, except in justifiable cases, is classified as a criminal offense under Art. 124 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. For refusal, the doctor may face liability up to imprisonment for up to 4 years, followed by a ban on engaging in certain activities for up to 3 years. Read more here https://lexconsult.online/6140-privlechenie-k-otvetstvennosti-za-nezakonnyi-otkaz-v-okazanii-meditsinskoi-pomoshhi
Negligence: what can you be charged with under Art. 293 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation?
The topic of negligence is raised quite often in the media, since its consequences can be very tragic.
The reasons for this attitude towards one’s professional responsibilities are quite different. This may be frivolity, carelessness, negligence, or deliberate disregard of duties.
The consequences of such an attitude may be as follows:
- Disclosure of personal information.
- Causing harm to health.
- Infringement of civil rights.
- Death of people.
- Disruption of the production process.
- Concealing information about another official misconduct.
- Financial losses.
Criminal negligence implies the occurrence of several types of consequences simultaneously, for which one can be held criminally liable under Art. 293 of the Criminal Code.
Types and examples
The types of crime in question are many, and such disastrous results are achieved both intentionally and without malice, viz.
Misunderstanding, neglect or lack of competence
For example, citizen N., without the necessary knowledge and skills, got a job as an expert in the field of technical safety at one large plant thanks to his good friends, that is, in simple terms, through connections. One working day, an employee approached him with a complaint about possible malfunctions of the machine at the workplace and indicated that these breakdowns could lead to bad consequences. Citizen N., not having the necessary technical knowledge, ignored the employee’s statement and did not go to carry out an inspection, the implementation of which was entirely within his competence and responsibilities. On the same day, the previously mentioned applicant, while working on a problematic machine, received an injury that caused his death.
As can be seen from the example, there was no malicious intent on N.’s part, but his lack of the skills necessary for his position and refusal to perform his direct work led to the death of the person.
Condescension and connivance
Citizen P. was responsible for compliance with safety regulations at the shooting club. His friends approached him with a request, which was to provide assistance in clarifying and resolving the dispute that had arisen. The dispute, in turn, was to determine who was bolder and more accurate. Having waited until the moment when only P. and his friends remained in the club, he agreed to provide them with weapons and open the gates of the shooting range. The friends' dispute was whether one of them could knock an apple off the other's head with a shot from an air gun. Accused P. did not check the weapons given to the disputants and instead of an air pistol, he gave out a firearm. As a result, one of the debaters died from a bullet wound.
In this example, there is evidence of leniency towards his friends, since the accused, taking advantage of his official position, allowed them to go to the shooting range, as well as a negligent attitude towards checking the weapons issued, which is his direct responsibility.
Incorrect assessment of the situation
The fire brigade received a call due to a fire in one of the garages. Having arrived at the scene, the responsible duty officer, seeing that the garage was almost completely burned out, did not give the command to extinguish and cordon off. But in this garage there were several gas cylinders, which detonated, killing one member of the team and one eyewitness watching the development of the situation.
These deaths could have been avoided if the person in charge had correctly assessed the situation, put out the fire in time, and put in place an appropriate cordon. Unfortunately, negligence is a fairly common phenomenon in two very important structures for the safety of human life - in medical institutions and law enforcement agencies. Similar cases due to the fault of unscrupulous employees arise every day.
Negligence: elements and types of crime
The correct classification of this crime is very important, since it may be similar in composition to official misconduct.
When determining negligence as a type of crime, the following qualifying criteria are taken into account:
- Material damage, which is not always expressed in monetary terms, since we are talking about civil rights, life, health, etc.
- Absence/presence of intent. An offense related to improper performance of official duties can occur without intent: through negligence, slight negligence, etc. If the culprit committed negligence intentionally, then such a crime is classified differently (forgery, abuse of authority, etc.).
In accordance with Art. 293 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, the objective side is considered to be the action or criminal inaction of the subject, and the subjective side is the presence of an unintentional form of guilt.
Only an official is recognized as the subject of negligence . The crime of negligence consists of a cause-and-effect relationship between the actions/inactions of a person and the resulting consequences.
Types of criminal negligence do not affect his qualifications . Nevertheless, from a legal point of view, it is customary to distinguish the following types of this crime:
- Official negligence, the subjects of which are civil servants.
- Official negligence, in which the subject has organizational, administrative and economic functions.
- Professional: negligence of doctors, police officers, teachers, etc.
The qualification of a crime is affected only by the presence of serious consequences, such as causing damage, harm to health or death of a person.
Professional negligence is considered the most common in Russia. The subjects of such an act are certain specialists.
For example, the negligence of a police officer may include the following:
- Ignoring requests and demands to take action against the person using domestic violence.
- Failure to fulfill one's direct duties in the event of a missing person, car theft, etc.
- A police officer's refusal to prosecute a person who has threatened someone (verbally or in writing).
The negligence of medical workers often leads to disability or death of the patient . Nevertheless, many specialists are brought to justice every year.
Social workers also cause a lot of harm due to negligence . They mainly deal with disabled people and children from disadvantaged families, so the responsibility here is quite high.
Lack of professionalism and negligence of enterprise workers and their managers also sometimes leads to the death of people. And the bodies authorized to carry out the relevant inspections often also do their work in bad faith.
Such a chain of frivolous attitude towards professional activity can lead to tragedy over time.
So, from the objective side, criminal negligence is characterized by:
- Inaction of an official or his improper, defective performance of his duties.
- The onset of consequences specified in the law.
- A causal connection between inaction or inappropriate behavior and the resulting consequences.
Negligence of an official: punishment
Negligent performance of duties by an official is a criminal offense . But it will be considered a crime only if there are signs established by the Criminal Code, namely:
- Careless, dishonest performance of official duties. The key point is that the duty is performed inappropriately or not at all.
- The presence of a cause-and-effect relationship between the action/inaction of an official and the occurrence of consequences.
- There were consequences in the form of: causing large or especially large damage to citizens, the state, and organizations.
The severity of the damage to health must be determined by an expert; For this purpose, the investigator commissions a forensic medical examination.
Serious harm to health is the loss of a limb, organ or loss of function of any organ (for example, hearing loss).
In the event of a person’s death due to negligence, the official can also be blamed only based on the results of an examination that will establish the existence of a cause-and-effect relationship between his actions/inaction and the occurrence of death.
Who is liable?
The subject of a crime under Art. 293 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation is a citizen performing the functions of a representative of the government, carrying out administrative, economic, organizational functions in the following organizations:
- government institutions (schools, hospitals, etc.);
- local government bodies (city Duma, municipality, regional chamber of control and accounts, etc.);
- state corporations (Rosatom, Russian Technologies, etc.);
- armed Russian formations, etc.
A person involved in a malpractice case may be a police officer, a prosecutor, a judge, etc.
Orders, charters, job descriptions must be attached to the materials of each case of official negligence, from the content of which it becomes clear what responsibilities were assigned to the suspected official.
Depending on the severity of the consequences, the perpetrator may be punished in accordance with parts 1, 2 or 3 of Art. 293 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.
