[Changes in medical standards and the need for adjusting legal standards of care from the point of view of criminal law].
In addition to the possibility of adjusting medical standards to the limited resources in health care, which is also included in civil law, German criminal law provides various other instruments. These include (1) the subjective person-related standard of diligence, (2) a restriction of the associated legal concept of "Ubernahmeverschulden" (fault by assumption), (3) admissible risk, (4) social adequacy, and (5) reasonableness and possibility within the scope of criminal omission. Although especially social adequacy and reasonableness and possibility from the point of view of criminal law may lead to satisfactory solutions, the adjustment of medical standards should--for the sake of the unity of law--be preferred so that synchronization with civil law liability may thus be achieved.
Erlinger
Rainer
R
Ulsenheimer Friederich Rechtsanwilte, Maximiliansplatz 12, 80333 München. erlinger@uls-frie.de
D003415:Crime / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D003695:Delivery of Health Care / Q000592:standards*; D005858:Germany; D006801:Humans; D007883:Legislation, Medical / Q000592:standards*; D012919:Social Behavior