Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine
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J R Soc Med
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Review
Doctors charged with manslaughter in the course of medical practice, 1795-2005: a literature review.
To quantify the number of doctors charged with manslaughter in the course of legitimate medical practice and to classify cases, as mistakes, slips (or lapses), and violations, using a recognized classification of human error system. ⋯ The number of doctors prosecuted for manslaughter has risen steeply since 1990, but the proportion of doctors convicted remains low. Prosecution for deliberately violating rules is understandable, but accounts for only a minority of these cases. Unconscious errors--mistakes and slips (or lapses)--are an inescapable consequence of human actions and prosecution of individuals is unlikely to improve patient safety. That requires improvement to the complex systems of health care.