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Summary Gross negligence manslaughter
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Summary of 2 pages for the course A2 Unit G153 - Criminal Law at OCR
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GROSS NEGLIGENCE MANSLAUGHTER:Source – Common Law
Definition – Where the death is a result of grossly negligent act or omission on the part of the defendant
The basis of the offence is based on the case of Adomako
- During an operation, an oxygen pipe became disconnected and the patient died
- The anaesthetist appellant failed to notice or respond to obvious signs of disconnection
Element 1: Duty of care
D must owe V a duty of care
Same meaning as in civil law
Explained by the case of Donoghue v Stevenson which gave us the ‘neighbour principle’
‘Neighbour’ is anyone so closely directed and affected by D’s act that D ought reasonably to have had them
in mind when carrying out act or omission
GNM can be committed by and act or omission
Key Case: R v Singh
D, a landlord, was found guilty of GNM after his tenants died from a faulty gas fire in a rental property.
Key Case: R v Litchfield
D, the master of a contaminated sailing ship, breached his duty of care to V, causing the ship to aground off the
Cornish coast, killing 14 people.
Key Case: R v Evans
D, who obtained heroin for her 16-year-old sister, failed to call for medical help, leading to her conviction for General
Neglect of Medicine (GNM), following Miller's 1983 case.
Element 2: Breach of Duty
There must be a breach of duty.
An objective test is applied, based upon what a reasonable person would do in the defendant’s position at
the time of the breach
An unqualified person is not to be judge at a lower standard than a qualified person. Therefore the lack of
skill will not be a defence if the conduct is deemed negligent (Nettleship v Weston)
If they have a special skill.. they will be judged against the reasonably competent professional in the field
(Wilsher v Essex)
D’s conduct must be less than that expected of a sober and reasonable person.
Case examples illustrating breaches… Singh, Litchfield, Wacker, Evans
Element 3: Causation
Gross negligence manslaughter is a result crime
Causation must be established
Factual (but for test) and legal (de minimis operative cause, unbroken chain of causation and take the victim
as you find them e.t.c)
In the view of the jury, the circumstances of the breach were truly exceptionally bad and so reprehensible as to
justify the conclusion that it amounted to gross negligence and required criminal sanction – R v Misra…
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