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Public hospital liability

Criminal and disciplinary sanctions

Most individuals instinctively turn to the police or the public prosecutor when faced with a dispute or disagreement involving a healthcare professional. However, criminal liability is rarely the most appropriate path. Like any citizen, a healthcare professional may indeed be held liable — but only if they have committed a criminal offense, which means an infraction, a misdemeanor, or a felony.

 

Moreover, unlike civil or administrative liability, it is not the victim who decides whether there will be a trial, but the public prosecutor.

 

Most of the time, victims are seeking either compensation or, in more serious cases, a form of punishment to prevent the professional from repeating the same mistake. While criminal courts are indeed meant to punish the perpetrators of crimes, misdemeanors, or infractions, in reality, few medical errors qualify as criminal offenses.

 

As a result, many victims who file complaints with the police, gendarmerie, or public prosecutor end up disappointed when no further action is taken. In truth, what they are often looking for — without realizing it — is either professional liability (disciplinary measures for professional misconduct) or civil/administrative liability (compensation for the harm suffered).

 

The criminal offenses most commonly associated with healthcare professionals include:

• unintentional harm to life or person,

• endangering the life of others,

• failure to assist a person in danger,

• breaches of rules governing clinical trials,

• violations of regulations regarding voluntary termination of pregnancy,

• breach of professional secrecy,

• gross professional misconduct,

• unauthorized practice of medicine,

• forgery and use of forgeries,

• and issuing fraudulent medical certificates.

 

To establish criminal liability in these cases, very specific conditions set out by the Penal Code and the Code of Criminal Procedure must be met.

 

If criminal liability is established, the professional may face penalties ranging from a fine to a suspended sentence, or even imprisonment.

 

Criminal liability is distinct from disciplinary or professional liability. Unlike civil or administrative liability, disciplinary liability does not aim to compensate victims.

 

It also differs from criminal liability in that it does not seek to punish a criminal offense, but rather the breach of professional duties imposed on healthcare professionals. Once a breach of ethical or professional obligations is identified, disciplinary action may be taken.

 

The process begins with a complaint filed with the Departmental Council of the Medical Board, which will attempt to organize a conciliation.

 

If conciliation fails, the complaint and a formal opinion will be forwarded to the Regional Council’s disciplinary chamber, which then acts as the first-instance disciplinary court. Sanctions may include a warning, reprimand, suspension, or removal from the profession.

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