An important, though not very frequent crime is the failure to provide assistance to the patient. The fact is that many do not even mean that this act is an offense. And criminal. Nevertheless, this does not exempt from liability. Yes, in Russia, cases of failure to provide assistance to patients who are punished by law are not so often recorded. But they do have a place. If you know when you need help, and in which cases you can ignore someone's need, leaving the citizen in danger, you can not run into a criminal offense. There will be no trial or investigation. True, the refusal to help the patient, leaving him in danger will still remain on conscience. So what is the crime? What threatens for violation? Article 124 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation will help to understand all this.
Article is not for everyone
First you need to learn one point - not every citizen is obliged to provide assistance to patients and help them out. That is, if just a person from the street passes by without doing anything, there will be no violation of the law here. Strangers are not required to support each other and help. Especially to the detriment of oneself. Familiar and close - yes, but a stranger - no.
Thus, failure to provide assistance to a patient takes place as a crime only in relation to special authorized persons. To be more precise, article 124 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation actually applies only to organizations and to citizens who, by law, are involved in protection or assistance. For example, in respect of maternity hospitals and hospitals, criminal proceedings will be instituted. But if, as already mentioned, the office worker does not help the patient, nothing will happen. His responsibilities do not include this function. Consider this fact.
By severity
Failure to provide assistance to a patient is a criminal offense if committed by a person or organization obliged to help those in need and the sick. True, the punishment for this act, in accordance with Article 124 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, will depend on the degree of damage and consequences.
That is, it is impossible to say exactly what measure will be applied for not providing assistance to the patient and for leaving him in danger. Usually, only two scenarios are considered: light and medium harm, as well as death and grave consequences. In the first case, a more humane punishment is imposed. But the second is followed by serious consequences. Which ones? The specifics will be presented to our attention further. Indeed, without it, one cannot say for sure what a lawbreaker can hope for.
Fines
No matter how strange it may sound, but, according to the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, failure to provide assistance to a patient can be punished with the most common fine. In some cases, such a measure seems quite acceptable. Remember: a pecuniary sanction is levied for moderate damage due to failure to provide assistance to the needy.
How much do you have to pay? The exact amount is determined by the court, the law spells out only a few restrictions. Thus, the fine can be up to 40,000 rubles. Or it is expressed in the form of income accused of a crime. For example, as a salary. Here the restriction is set in the form of months of work. They cannot exceed 3. That is, the fine can be expressed as the income of the defendant in no more than 3 months.
Work
Responsibility for not providing care to a patient may be different. If it was decided not to charge a fine, then other measures may be applied.Let's say community service. Also quite common in Russia. Not for refusing to help the needy, but in principle.
In this case, if, because of the crime committed, harm was caused to the life and health of the victim, characterized as average, you can count on mandatory and corrective labor. The first ones can last up to 15 days (this is 360 hours, in practice, the punishment lasts about a month), the second - up to 12 months inclusive. Not too scary, but unpleasant.
Arrest
Criminal liability for failure to provide assistance to the patient by those who are required to commit these acts can also be expressed as an arrest. Not the worst measure if it does not last very long. Moreover, the duration of the arrest cannot exceed 4 months. In practice, of course, such a measure is rarely applied. And it lasts no more than 15 days. With rare exceptions. This is a kind of unwritten rule that takes place in Russia. In most cases, the arrest lasts about 2 weeks. But according to article 124 of the Criminal Code, the minimum is set at 2 months.
Fatal or severe outcome
Failure to help the patient, leaving such a person in danger is a crime. Moreover, as we have already found out, it’s criminal. Some measures to prevent this act are already known. But what if the inaction of the authorized bodies led to the death of the victim or caused him serious harm?
Here the punishment will be more serious. And it may additionally be accompanied by a restriction on the conduct of a particular activity, as well as the abolition of the right to occupy certain posts and positions. This usually applies to healthcare and medicine. Additional punishment may be put forward by the court at its discretion. This is an optional punishment. It lasts 3 years.
Instead, forced labor is assigned. Their term varies. But the maximum laid for refusing to help the patient is 4 years. For this period, the court is able to coer the perpetrator of grievous bodily harm or fatal due to a refusal of assistance to work. And nothing more.
Deprivation of liberty also takes place. It can be accompanied by a restriction of activity. But direct imprisonment lasts no more than 4 years. Such cases are not so common in practice.
Abandonment in danger
Another rather important point is the immediate abandonment of danger. The measures applied to this violation are regulated article 125 Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. Unlike the previous one, this paragraph applies to all citizens. That is, leaving a person in danger, even if he is a stranger to you, is not only a sin that remains on his conscience, but also a crime of a criminal nature. True, with rare exceptions, citizens are punished only when their guilt is proved. More precisely - when it is proved that they could help without harming themselves and without putting their personality in a dangerous position. Also, leaving in danger extends to cases where the offender was obliged to look after and monitor the victim.
Abandonment is punishable in much the same way as failure to provide assistance. The first measure is a fine. It is either up to 80,000 rubles, or is expressed as the income of the defendant for a maximum of 6 months. Mandatory work for 360 hours, or corrective labor for a year, or forced labor for the same period - all this is relevant for Article 125 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. Sometimes there is an arrest of up to 3 months inclusive or imprisonment. It lasts up to 1 year.
Composition
So we dealt with you with the punishments that are imposed for not providing assistance to the patient. The corpus delicti plays an important role here. Indeed, in some cases, you can prove that you are innocent. And there is no composition. And without him, there is no business.
It is worth noting that the object here is public relations aimed at ensuring the safety of life and health of citizens, the objective side is the inaction of authorized organizations and persons obliged to help patients. This also includes unscrupulous or untimely provision of services by medical institutions.
The corpus delicti is material. It damages the life and health of the victim to one degree or another. True, Article 124 now refers only to consequences of at least moderate severity.Light damage cannot be punished under this law. The causal relationship between the incident and the inaction of the medical worker must be established without fail.
Good reasons
Nevertheless, punishment can be avoided in some cases. For example, if there were good reasons for not providing care to the patient. There are no clear norms and rules here. Each case is considered individually. Therefore, good reasons will always be different. One thing unites them - the need for proof.
For example, objective force can be attributed here, which interferes with the provision of assistance. A kind of obstacle. For example, an ambulance doctor could not enter the apartment from which they called for help. And at the same time only the victim lived there. Do not break out the door! This is another violation of the law.
Illness of a healthcare professional as well urgent need providing assistance to another person is also exempt from liability. If there are no medicines, devices and devices that are needed for salvation, there will simply not be a criminal offense. After all, the medical worker did not have the opportunity to help.
Sometimes it is possible to take into account the lack of competence in providing assistance. But at the same time, a specialist who specializes in a particular direction should be called. For example, a pediatrician is not entitled to take birth. He should call an obstetrician or at least a simple gynecologist. For the consequences, neither one nor the other professional under Article 124 will be responsible.
