Turco Sara, Gori Federica, Papi Luigi, Dell'Osso Liliana, Carpita Barbara, Maiese Aniello, Turillazzi Emanuela, Di Paolo Marco
Department of Surgical Pathology, Medical, Molecular and Critical Area, Institute of Legal Medicine, University of Pisa, Via Roma n. 55, 56126, Pisa, PI, Italy.
Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy.
Clin Neuropsychiatry. 2022 Oct;19(5):307-313. doi: 10.36131/cnfioritieditore20220506.
As a result of the duty of care, the healthcare professional has an obligation of surveillance towards the patients that are under their treatment. According to that principle, the Italian Criminal Supreme Court declared a guilty sentence in many cases of psychiatric patients' suicide, recognizing the criminal liability of the healthcare personnel. This is true not only for suicides occurred inside the hospital, but also for the suicide of psychiatric outpatients. Only in a few cases, the Italian Supreme Court acquitted the healthcare personnel. This happened when it was recognized that the suicide event was unavoidable. Despite the fact that suicide risk is often unpredictable, this does not exclude medical liability. In this work we examine the judicial aspects of five cases of suicide of psychiatric patients, considering whether different preventive strategies could have been effective in preventing the suicide event. This work aims to understand whether the suicide of psychiatric patient is effectively preventable and - referring to healthcare responsibility under penal judgment - if that could be proven beyond all reasonable doubt.
基于注意义务，医疗保健专业人员对其正在治疗的患者负有监测义务。根据该原则，意大利刑事最高法院在许多精神病患者自杀案件中宣判有罪，认定医护人员负有刑事责任。这不仅适用于在医院内发生的自杀事件，也适用于精神科门诊患者的自杀。只有在少数情况下，意大利最高法院宣告医护人员无罪。这种情况发生在认定自杀事件不可避免之时。尽管自杀风险往往不可预测，但这并不排除医疗责任。在这项工作中，我们研究了五起精神病患者自杀案件的司法方面，考虑不同的预防策略是否可能有效预防自杀事件。这项工作旨在了解精神病患者的自杀是否真的可以预防，以及——参照刑事判决中的医疗责任——是否能够毫无合理怀疑地证明这一点。
