Manslaughter is the legal term which defines a person as being responsible for the death of a human being, but less culpable than murder. The distinction between the two often comes down to whether the actions were premeditated (carried out with prior intent and planning).
Involuntary manslaughter occurs when a person is responsible for a person's death, but without the intent to kill.
There are generally two main types of involuntary manslaughter:
-Gross negligence, and
-Unlawful or dangerous act
Examples of involuntary manslaughter
Verdicts of involuntary manslaughter are often given in the wake of deadly motor vehicle accidents where the driver caused the accident and was under the influence of drugs or alcohol. Whilst the driver did not intend to kill anybody, their negligence occurred from driving whilst impaired.
A further example would be if the owner of a dangerous carnival ride did not check that passengers were safely strapped in and they died as a direct result of this carelessness.
