Defects in treatment, patient information and organization from the aspectof criminal law

Defects in treatment, patient information and organization can lead to resp onsibility under criminal law in addition to civil liability. This turns ma inly on the facts of negligent bodily injury and negligent homicide. It is estimated that about 2500-3000 investigations against doctors are started b y the director of public prosecutions every year in Germany. These can resu lt in penal law proceedings at the end of which the persons concerned are s entenced. This cannot be avoided unless an adequate;defence is started as s oon as the accusation becomes known. The aim of the defence has to be to ge t the investigation stopped as soon as possible and to at least avoid a pub lic trial. A particular feature is that working in the medical profession c an in itself lead to responsibility under criminal law. This is a risk prac titioners must be aware,of. In general, forensic risks are required to be k ept to a minimum. Appropriate risk management also contributes to this end. This implies appropriate behaviour in the case of any incidents arising in connection with treatment and/or when the director of public prosecutions starts an investigation. An effective defence is only possible against this backdrop.