Massachusetts Medical Law Report Blog

It is not common for a physician to be criminally prosecuted when his or her patient dies or is injured during a medical procedure the doctor performs.

But last week a former gynecologist in Hyannis, Mass., whose patient died while he was performing an abortion last year, was indicted for involuntary manslaughter. The arraignment will take place this week.

For a doctor, the very thought of being indicted over a medical procedure is chilling. And from all the cases I have seen and researched, I can tell you it is rare.

But when might negligence in a medical situation become arguably a crime?

Simply put, a doctor sued for negligence would be accused of breaching his duty of reasonable care to a patient, thereby causing injury. A civil negligence claim might become a criminal charge for involuntary manslaughter when the doctor’s behavior was allegedly so egregious as to constitute wanton or reckless conduct.

I was interviewed on the subject and quoted in the Cape Cod Times. Read the article here.

As the article mentioned, the doctor in this case is accused of failing to monitor the patient’s pulse or blood pressure while she was sedated and delaying calling 911 for help when he couldn’t resuscitate her. He is also accused of trying cover up evidence of the “botched procedure” to the Massachusetts Board of Registration in Medicine.

It remains to be seen what will happen in the doctor’s criminal trial, which won’t happen until some time next year.

I would be interested to hear what others think about whether a situation like this should be handled as a criminal matter.