[Durgical](https://durgical.com/en/) › [DurgiPedia](https://durgical.com/en/durgipedia/) › [Forensic medicine](https://durgical.com/en/forensic-medicine/) › [A doctor's legal duties in Colombia](https://durgical.com/en/forensic-medicine/areas/duties/) › Criminal liability in medical practice: negligent homicide and injury # Criminal liability in medical practice: negligent homicide and injury - Topic A doctor is criminally liable when, by breaching the duty of care, they cause a foreseeable death or injury: negligent homicide or negligent injury. Updated Nov 5, 2026 ## Key points - Negligence: breach of the objective duty of care with a foreseeable result (Penal Code, art. 23). - Negligent homicide (art. 109) and negligent injury (art. 120): the crimes most linked to medical practice. - Liability by omission: whoever holds a guarantor position and fails to prevent the result when able is liable (art. 25). - Criminal, civil and ethical-disciplinary proceedings are separate and can run together. ## What it is Criminal liability is distinct from civil liability (compensating harm) and from ethical-disciplinary liability (medical ethics tribunals), which are covered in Medical ethics. In the Penal Code (Law 599 of 2000), conduct is negligent (culposa) when the result comes from breaching the objective duty of care and the person should have foreseen it, or foresaw it and trusted they could avoid it (art. 23). Negligence is punished only for the crimes the law names (art. 21); those closest to medical practice are negligent homicide (art. 109) and negligent injury (art. 120). A person can also be liable for an omission when they hold a guarantor position (art. 25). In these cases the medical record and the expert report are usually the central evidence. ## Key facts - Art. 21: conduct is intentional, negligent or beyond intent (preterintencional); negligence is punishable only where the law expressly says so. - Art. 23: there is negligence when the result comes from breaching the objective duty of care and the person should have foreseen it because it was foreseeable, or foresaw it and trusted they could avoid it. - Art. 25: whoever has a legal duty to prevent a result and fails to, when able, is liable for it; voluntarily taking on the actual protection of a person creates a guarantor position. - Art. 109 (amended by Law 890 of 2004): negligent homicide, 32 to 108 months in prison and a fine; art. 110 sets aggravating circumstances. - Art. 120: negligent injury carries the penalty of the corresponding injury reduced by three quarters to four fifths; injuries are graded by incapacity, deformity, functional impairment and loss (arts. 111 onwards). - Art. 131: failure to give aid: not helping, without just cause, a person whose life or health is in grave danger. ## Next step: what to do and document - Record in the medical record, at the time, your clinical reasoning, the alternatives considered and why one was chosen. - Document informed consent and the risks explained (see Medical ethics). - After a serious adverse event, care for the patient, disclose truthfully and report it through the institution, without altering the record. - If summoned by the prosecution service as a suspect, get legal advice before giving a statement: no one has to testify against themselves. - Do not complete or correct notes after the event without recording the date, time and reason for the addition. ## Legal framework in Colombia - Penal Code (Law 599 of 2000), arts. 21, 23, 25, 109, 110, 111 to 121 and 131. - Political Constitution, art. 33: no one can be forced to testify against themselves. - Official text checked on 2026-11-05 at funcionpublica.gov.co (Law 599 of 2000 and Political Constitution). ## Test yourself Think of the answer, then tap the question to see it. ## How does the Colombian Penal Code define negligent conduct? Conduct that produces the result by breaching the objective duty of care, when the person should have foreseen it or foresaw it and trusted they could avoid it (art. 23). ## What penalty does art. 109 of the Penal Code set for negligent homicide? 32 to 108 months in prison and a fine, in the text amended by Law 890 of 2004. ## How is negligent injury punished? With the penalty of the corresponding injury, reduced by three quarters to four fifths (art. 120). ## When is a doctor criminally liable for failing to act? When they hold a guarantor position, for example by taking on the actual protection of a patient, and fail to prevent the result when able (art. 25). [Add to my cards (4)](https://durgical.app/estudiar/?add=/en/forensic-medicine/criminal-liability-in-medical-practice-negligent-homicide-and-injury/) ## Elsewhere in DurgiPedia - [Medical liability: obligation of means and lex artis](https://durgical.com/en/medical-ethics/medical-liability-obligation-of-means-and-lex-artis/) ## Connections ## Related 3 - [The medical record as evidence](https://durgical.com/en/forensic-medicine/the-medical-record-as-evidence/) - [The doctor as expert witness (perito) under Law 906 of 2004](https://durgical.com/en/forensic-medicine/the-doctor-as-expert-witness-under-law-906-of-2004/) - [Código Penal: lesiones personales (arts. 111–121)](https://durgical.com/en/forensic-medicine/codigo-penal-lesiones-personales/) [← All of forensic medicine](https://durgical.com/en/forensic-medicine/) Educational content on forensic and legal medicine; not legal advice and no substitute for the technical guides of Colombia's National Institute of Legal Medicine and Forensic Sciences. Laws change: each page links the official text and says when it was last checked. For a real case, follow the guide in force and ask the competent authority. Sources: [Ley 599 de 2000, Código Penal](https://www.funcionpublica.gov.co/eva/gestornormativo/norma.php?i=6388) (Función Pública, Gestor Normativo, 2000); [Constitución Política de Colombia de 1991](https://www.funcionpublica.gov.co/eva/gestornormativo/norma.php?i=4125) (Función Pública, Gestor Normativo, 1991). ## **Spotted a mistake?** We are always improving for the community. Tell us what is wrong and our team will review it. Report a mistake Representative model, for educational purposes only. --- Source: https://durgical.com/en/forensic-medicine/criminal-liability-in-medical-practice-negligent-homicide-and-injury/ License: CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). 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