Criminal negligence indicates the lowest level of responsibility or guilt, criminal intention being the highest. Gross negligence and criminal recklessness share the same intermediate level.
What pushes an act over the line from criminal to gross negligence is the fact that the offender COULD foresee the prohibited or criminal consequences of his actions.
Criminal recklessness, on the other hand, indicates the offender knew that he was exposing another person or entity to potential injury. Guilt is determined by the offender's agreeing to run that risk.
Some acts of this crime have more to do with crimes of omission. Guilt is determined by the offender's not foreseeing the results of his actions, allowing otherwise avoidable dangers or consequences to happen.
If the offender deliberately puts himself in a position where he won't be aware of the consequences of his actions, then criminal negligence can turn into willful blindness. Just like willful blindness, "not knowing" is NOT an acceptable defense and the defendant can still be held criminally liable for the results of his actions.
The punishments for this crime vary widely, but incarceration is very common. If the offender is legally declared insane, he may be removed to a state-run facility for treatment purposes.
Criminal Negligence - Common Cases
Criminal negligence also arises from acts that are careless or work that is slipshod. Two common cases of criminal negligence have to do with criminally negligent homicide and negligent child endangerment.
The most controversial cases have to do with slipshod or neglectful healthcare. To prove any 'fault' of any healthcare practitioner (e.g., doctor, nurse, medical technologist, etc.) the plaintiff needs to prove four things:
1. Duty of Care
2. Breach of Standard Healthcare
3. Loss or Injury
4. Causation (link between an offender's action and the resulting loss/injury)
Criminal Negligence - The Greenpeace Case
Another common application of the crime has to do with the culpability of corporations or organizations for the way they do business or implement policies. Oftentimes, violators are charged with criminal negligence even if the full consequences of their neglectful behavior never occur.
In May 2005, Greenpeace was found guilty of criminal negligence resulting from its anti-logging efforts in Alaska. The criminal action resulted from a Greenpeace ship crossing into Alaskan waters without the necessary paperwork.
Carrying over 70,000 gallons of petroleum products, the ship headed for an Alaskan National Forest for its anti-logging campaign. The state of Alaska has laws that require such vessels to file an oil-spill response/prevention plan at least five days before the vessel enters state waters.
Although Greenpeace didn't file the plan within the given period they quickly corrected the oversight. However, the ship's captain was still convicted on three counts of criminal negligence.
Criminal negligence in Alaska has maximum penalties of 12 months in prison and $10,000 for a person and a fine of $200,000 payable by the offending organization.
Needless to say, the penalties would've been much more severe if an oil spill did take place. But this case clearly shows that even a threat of danger due to 'low-level' negligence can be prosecuted in court.
Latest Non-Fiction Articles
Write a How to Book First to Sell Way More
By: Earma Brown | 21/08/2008
Did you know Americans alone spend $8.5 billion a year on how-to and self-help information products and services?
Don't Let Good Grammar Spoil Good Writing
By: Philip Yaffe | 19/08/2008
Good grammar is fundamental to good writing, right? Wrong. However, years of experience working with people who use English as a second or third language have demonstrated that focusing too much on grammar can actually be detrimental to good writing. It's a question of priorities.
Modern Helicopters-the Eh-101 Merlin
By: K. Crockett | 16/08/2008
AgustaWestland is a joint venture formed by Agusta of Italy, makers of the A-109, and Westland of Great Britain, makers of the Lynx. The EH-101 is a direct competitor to the Sikorsky S-92 and was developed for both military and civil roles.
Animals
By: shivani suraiya | 15/08/2008
All about animals. About their origin, their lifestyles and their habitats including some interesting facts on different subjets. mostly based on mammals overing all extinct mammals around the world and which are not very well known.
The Three Speech Writing SECRETS You MUST Know - The Definitive Speech Writing How to Guide
By: Stuart Brown | 15/08/2008
In this article I am going to explore several techniques as to how you can improve your speech writing abilities, and also how to approach writing a speech for certain different circumstances. Whether it be for a wedding, where perhaps you are the best man, or for an important business meeting where you really need to impress. And tell you the three secret ingredients every speech needs.
Writing Your Thoughts – the Carrot and Stick Strategy
By: Nick Sanders | 14/08/2008
When you are writing, having a strategy in mind is rather useful – especially when you are wanting your reader to commit to something or someone. You will want to lead the reader in the direction you intend to finish upon and don’t want to cause confusion and misdirection in your writing. Here are a few tips on the carrot and stick strategy of writing that is good to use in a time of need.
Science: Guaranteed to Curb Creative Thinking!
By: Natasha | 13/08/2008
In today's sci- fi world dominated by facts and figures, the essence of life and belief in God's miracles have been thrust aside as illogical and futile, nonetheless God NEVER fails to surprise us....
How to Develop Your Book’s Structure
By: Melinda Copp | 12/08/2008
A man came to me last week because he needed help writing his book. He told me that he’s had this project on his to-do list for years, but he just couldn’t seem to get started. He’s literally been staring at the task—start writing my book—almost every day, and when he came to me, he still hadn’t done it.
Writing 
