Gian-Cursio v. State case brief

Gian-Cursio v. State case brief summary
180 So.2d 396 (1965)

CASE SYNOPSIS

Defendants, chiropractic physicians, appealed from the trial court (Florida), the denial of their motions for new trial following their convictions for manslaughter by having caused the death of a patient through culpable negligence.

CASE FACTS
Defendants, chiropractic physicians, treated a tuberculosis patient with a regimen that was not medically approved treatment for his condition. Following the patient's death defendants were convicted of manslaughter for having caused his death through culpable negligence. Defendants' motions for new trials were denied, and they appealed.

DISCUSSION

• The appellate court reasoned that conviction for manslaughter was appropriate in a case in which the death of a patient resulted from criminal negligence of a medical practitioner in the patient's treatment. 
• Criminal negligence existed if defendants exhibited gross lack of competency, gross inattention, or criminal indifference to the patient's safety. 
• This could have arisen through gross negligence in application and selection of remedies. 
• The evidence produced at trial was sufficient to support a finding that treatment afforded by defendants advanced rather than retarded the patient's condition and caused his death. 
• It was for the jury to determine whether defendants' method of treatment amounted to culpable negligence and was the proximate cause of the patient's death. 
• Because the evidence supported the jury decision, judgment was affirmed.

CONCLUSION
The denial of new trials for defendants, chiropractic physicians, was affirmed following their convictions for manslaughter for culpable negligence that resulted in the death of a patient. Whether defendants' method of treatment amounted to culpable negligence and was the proximate cause of the patient's death were issues for the jury to decide. The evidence supported the jury's finding of guilt.


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