Practical management of a conflict in hospital practice is based on specific rules of administrative law which govern our hospital activity in terms of medical responsibility. But beyond this, it calls upon notions of common sense, medical and above all civil and diplomatic behaviour, so as not to create a critical situation in this already very unpleasant context. The author also describes some approach techniques to allow the physician facing this situation to extricate himself as well as possible. In addition, all requests for explanations, however "aggressive", do not necessarily end in the law courts, and that only 15 to 20% of cases prosecuted are eventually found guilty.