R v Adomako
1995 · 1 AC 171
Posted By lanbuk.com
- Facts
- Adomako was the anaesthetist during an eye operation. The tube carrying oxygen to the patient became disconnected. He did not notice why the patient was turning blue. The patient died. He was of manslaughter.
- Issue
- What must be proved for manslaughter by gross ?
- Held
- The House of Lords upheld the conviction. The jury must be sure of a , a breach of that duty, a risk of death, and negligence which they consider to be gross, that is criminal.
- Principle
- Gross-negligence manslaughter replaces the old test. The negligence must be so bad that it is a crime.
- Why it matters
- Stone and Dobinson is the omissions case on the same principle. Caldwell recklessness is not a separate head of manslaughter.
Words and Latin in this note
- Recklessness
- The conscious taking of an unjustified risk. The accused foresaw the possibility of the harm and went on. The older Caldwell test, which treated a person as reckless for giving no thought to an obvious risk, has been discarded. Open the note.
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