Charges of corporate manslaughter in the NHS

doi:10.1136/bmj.332.7555.1404

BMJ 2006;332:1404-1405 (17 June), doi:10.1136/bmj.332.7555.1404

Editorial

Charges of corporate manslaughter in the NHS

May be brought if patients die after clinical negligence

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

Until now, indictments for manslaughter founded on alleged grossnegligence after the death of a patient in the United Kingdomhave been brought against doctors rather than hospitals andNHS trusts. A recent groundbreaking legal decision indicatesthat this may change. A hospital or trust as an organisationcould be incriminated in a charge following the death of a patient,and corporate manslaughter, or corporate killing, may emergeas a new threat for the NHS.

In the case in question a 31 year old man admitted to SouthamptonGeneral Hospital in 2000 for a routine knee operation developeda bacterial infection which two senior house officers failedto diagnose and treat. The patient subsequently died of staphylococcaltoxic shock syndrome. The doctors were convicted of gross negligencemanslaughter at the Winchester Crown Court in 2003 and givensuspended prison sentences. The NHS trust was prosecuted undersection three of . . . [Full text of this article]

Ash Samanta, consultant rheumatologist

Department of Rheumatology, University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust, Leicester Royal Infirmary, Leicester LE1 5WW
(ash.samanta@uhl-tr.nhs.uk)

Jo Samanta, lecturer in law

De Montfort University, Leicester