Analysis of judicial practice materials on delayed transfer of patients from/to the ICU

Introduction. The increase in citizens’ complaints about the provision of medical care of inadequate quality, associated with the delayed transfer of patients from/to the ICU, necessitates monitoring of actual legal practice.

The objective was to analyze materials of judicial practice – decisions of the courts of first instance, verdicts, appellate and cassation rulings, etc., in the text of which there was an indication of the delayed transfer of patients from/to the ICU.

Materials and methods. Of 2103 materials of judicial practice from June 2013 to January 2025, the study included 43 court decisions, in the text of which there was an indication of the delayed transfer of patients from/to the ICU. Statistical processing was performed in Microsoft Excel and Jamovi (version 2.3.28).

Results. The study included 35 court decisions that had been adopted based on the results of civil cases; the texts of 5 court decisions issued based on the results of civil cases substantiated information on the initiation of criminal cases on the same factual circumstances; 3 judicial act were made based on the results of criminal cases. The number of court orders containing information about delayed transfer of patients from/to the ICU increased by two every three years. The defendants were 44 medical organizations in 33 subjects of the Russian Federation. In civil cases, city and district hospitals were more likely to be defendants and co-defendants than university clinics and regional hospitals. A more common cause of deficiencies/defects in the provision of inadequate quality medical care in criminal cases was insufficient qualifications of employees compared to civil cases. In criminal cases, the defendants were mainly anesthesiologists and pediatricians, and the victim of the crime was a child under 18 years of age. Nine doctors were convicted, six of whom were serving sentences, three of them anesthesiologists. The actions of anesthesiologists were qualified under Articles 109, 293 and 238 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.

Conclusion. An increase in the number of court orders related to the delayed transfer of patients from/to the ICU was revealed. City and district hospitals were mainly involved as defendants and co-defendants in civil cases, while the subjects of criminal liability were anesthesiologists and pediatricians.

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