This paper provides insight into Article 181 of the Criminal Code, which regulates the criminal offense of medical malpractice, which falls under the category of special criminal offenses and is placed in Chapter Nineteen (XIX) under the title Criminal offenses against human health. Medical law has provided us with a real foundation on which we can observe and draw conclusions regarding medical issues, which is reflected in the fact that mistakes also happen to doctors who practice medicine as a professional activity. Cases of medical malpractice are always covered by the media, and in this way doctors are stigmatized for the error committed, which the opponents of punishment point out as a lack of criminal regulation, and in addition, the appearance of defensive medicine is becoming more and more frequent, in connection with which there are discussions about the possible classification under the mentioned criminal offense. The emphasis of the paper is precisely on the interpretation of the criminal offense of negligent treatment through its characteristics. The peculiarity regarding the characteristics of the perpetrator is that the perpetrator can only be a doctor and other health worker. The perpetrator can realize the essence of the criminal act in four possible ways, the existence of which also requires a violation of due care, within which it is tried to determine whether the medical treatment was according to the rules of the medical profession. Regarding guilt as the basis for sentencing, we state that the criminal offense of medical malpractice is regulated in Croatian legislation in such a way that it can be committed with or without intent. While it is possible to imagine a treatment procedure during which a doctor intentionally commits a criminal offense and thus damages the patient's health, on the other hand, a careless form brings difficulties in demarcating the objective responsibility advocated by doctors as an acceptable option in terms of legal regulation of their responsibility for the error.