Start with duty, record and medical causation
A bad outcome, civil negligence, regulatory breach and criminal negligence require different legal and fault analyses.
What duty applied to each practitioner, what departure occurred and did it legally cause the assessed injury?
Independent expertise should identify the applicable specialty standard and limitations; it should not be asked to declare criminal guilt.
The unaltered clinical record matters first
Complete chart and audit trail, consent, observations, staffing, protocols, imaging, samples and independent specialty review.
Clinical chronology
Reconstruct condition, decisions, interventions and response.
Individual duty
Distinguish practitioner, clinic, agency and executive roles.
Causation
Test competing medical explanations and legally assessed harm.
Articles that may enter the qualification
Serious or less serious harm to health by negligence
An adverse outcome or safety breach does not itself prove criminal negligence; the standard of care, individual duty, fault, medical classification and causation must be established.
Read full Article 124 text on this pageKilling by negligence
May be relevant where a death is alleged to result from negligence rather than an intentional act; duty, fault and causation require independent proof.
Read full Article 116 text on this pageRead the relevant Criminal Code provisions
The panel below reproduces the available official English wording for convenient reading. Check the current Georgian text and the exact article part before relying on it, because later amendments may not yet appear in translation.
Article 124Infliction of serious or less serious harm to health by negligence+
Infliction of serious or less serious harm to health by negligence, –
shall be punished by a fine or imprisonment for a term of up to two years.
The consolidated official source is listed in the source section at the end of this guide.
Article 116Killing by negligence+
1. Killing by negligence, –
shall be punished by house arrest for a term of six months to two years or imprisonment for a term of two to four years.
2. The same act committed against two or more persons, –
shall be punished by imprisonment for a term of three to five years.
The consolidated official source is listed in the source section at the end of this guide.
Secure the unaltered record and obtain a chronology-led independent opinion before attributing individual fault.
Primary sources for this guide
Before acting, compare this guide with the current Georgian text and the exact document served in the case. The official English translation may not include the latest amendment.
Official consolidated Criminal Code — current text & PDF↗︎Law on Health Care↗︎Law on Patient Rights↗︎