I confini dell’intervento sanitario indebito: la nozione di «lex artis» e il consenso ad atti non proporzionati. Rilievi a margine di cass. pen. 7 aprile 2011, n. 13746

The paper reflects on the conditions that are necessary to consider a medical act as the cause of a desease, according to the Italian law definition of the crime of injury. In particular, it is primarily important to qualify the act itself as therapeutic one and, consequentially, to distinguish the notion of lex artis, in medical field: nonetheless it is very important to not overlap this notion with that of “disproportionate medical act”. Requirements – sometimes not adequately considered – necessary to any allegation of the crime of willful injury are deepened too. Furthermore, the paper sets out an overview about the importance and the limits of the personal consent to the medical act and also handles with the reasons why the “disproportionate medical act” has to be considered allowed if there is the patient’s personal consent. Given the necessity to discourage behaviors related to the “defensive medicine”, the Author calls for a reform of sanctions system, above all the criminal one.