Are poisonings inflicted upon others always criminal?

While self-poisoning is a common cause for hospitalization, in the experience of our toxicological intensive care unit and emergency department, poisoning of other persons appears to be quite rare. We identified 32 patients in a non-exhaustive review of patients presenting over a 28-y period who had been unequivocally poisoned by others. We examine here the circumstances leading up to these poisonings, along with their clinical outcomes, and propose a classification scheme based on underlying intent.