Alternative punishment for negligence of medical staff leading to the death of the patient

In case of negligence of the medical staff leading to the death of the patient, the offender may be sentenced to imprisonment in addition to paying wergild to the parents of the deceased. However, for the medical staff, being sentenced to imprisonment due to their high social status in the country, in addition to entering and damaging the community's therapeutic community, may have many negative consequences for a person that in the future career They have a great impact. Therefore, it is necessary to pay special attention to alternative punishments in the field.

The present article examines the possibility of an alternative to imprisonment with a case study of a specific case in which the patient dies due to the negligence of the medical staff, and generally evaluates the view of the Iranian legislature regarding alternative punishments to imprisonment in connection with medical malpractice.

Providing a definition of alternatives to imprisonment and their examples, and matching nursing or medical malpractice with one of alternatives to imprisonment, requires a legal process that is within the jurisdiction of the judicial authority. In this way, the judge uses this mechanism according to the amount of injuries and the percentage of faults and some of the characteristics of the accused.

Examination of existing laws and regulations indicates that the issuance of an alternative punishment to imprisonment is within the authority of the judicial authority and is in no way a privilege for the medical staff.