[Intensive care--forensic problems from the viewpoint of divided responsibility].

The agreements between surgery/anesthesiology (1970) differentiate between specialist and indisciplinary intensive care units. In the specialist unit the surgeon is also responsible for intensive care therapy. In the interdisciplinary units the surgeon is responsible for the treatment of the primary disease and the anesthesiologist is responsible for the intensive care therapy. Their cooperation is determined by a strict division of labor and the principle of confidence. The agreements, which have proven successful legally, leave the decision about a more detailed delimitation of the tasks to local arrangements. It is suggested that a concretization of the agreements of 1970 should perhaps be considered.