Civil liability: characterization of the demand for lawsuits against dentists

Abstract In light of the fact that dentists may be held civilly liable for their practice, it is important to understand the current situation of lawsuits filed against these professionals by studying current legal decisions and the literature. The objective of this study was to analyze the case law of the Court of Justice of São Paulo, Brazil, relative to the profile of patients and professionals, the most commonly involved specialties, the amounts litigated and the court decisions pertaining to civil liability lawsuits against dentists. In an inductive approach, a single researcher screened and collected civil liability rulings by accessing the Court's website, and following a statistical-descriptive procedure and an indirect observation technique. The most frequently involved specialty was prosthodontics. However, oral and maxillofacial surgery was related to a higher incidence of damages awarded to settle claims and to higher damage amounts. The dentist was found guilty in 44.32% of the cases researched. Pecuniary damages ranged between R$ 485.50 and R$ 12,530.00, and non-pecuniary damages ranged between R$ 2,500.00 and R$ 70,000.00. Most lawsuits were filed by women against male dentists. An increase in the relative number of lawsuits against companies versus individuals was observed.

Negligence in sterilisation: the changing legal regime.

Negligence in a sterilisation operation is a crucial issue in a country like India where sterilisation operations form an important part of government programmes. This article seeks to highlight the medico-legal dilemmas that surround this issue, and the legal pronouncements on it. The article also deals with a recent policy initiative--the Family Planning Insurance Scheme--that has been formulated in this regard, its legal implications, and its impact on the medical fraternity as well as on society as a whole.

Drug-related problems and adverse drug events: negligence, litigation and prevention.

Since the inclusion of medical profession under Consumer Protection Act, Indian doctors are facing malpractice suits. The incidence of adverse events (AEs) is 3.4-3.7, of adverse drug events (ADEs) is 2.4-6.5 and of adverse drug reactions (ADRs) is 6.7 per 100 hospital admissions. The complications of drug-related problems (DRPs) include therapeutic failure (TF) in 23% and new medical problems (NMPs) in 10% and could lead to serious permanent disability and death in majority (42%). The incidence of negligence in serious ADEs and death is 34% and 51%, respectively. Proportion of preventable ADEs is 28-50%. Errors occur most often in prescribing (39-56%) and result in malpractice claims in 13-25% of cases. Rational prescribing, improved therapeutic knowledge through re-training and effective use of computers in prescribing could prevent errors and reduce economic consequences for patients, doctors and hospitals.

Impericia médica en Puerto Rico: 1990-1996 / medical negligence in Puerto Rico: 1990-1996

The purpose of this communication is to present the statistical information of the medical and hospital professional liability situation in Puerto Rico from 1990 to 1996. The Medical Institutional liability is a topic of great relevancy and importance to the people of Puerto Rico and the leaders responsible for establishing policies for the health care services. The Reports on Medical and Hospital Professional Liability from 1991 to the 1996 produced by the Examining Physicians Board were reviewed. The liability claims from 1991 to the 1996 totaled 4054. During the seven years analyzed, 3506 cases were closed against physicians and institutions, a payment was issued in 1272 cases (36.3 percent), for a total compensation of $56,268,053. The risk of a legal claim is greater for the group of Plastic Surgeons and Emergency Medicine. The probability of a plaintiff receiving a compensation payment in a case of medical malpractice is approximately 36 percent, usually receiving a third of the total of the award as suggested by the medical literature. A thoughtful analysis of the current medical liability situation and defensive medicine should be done with the purpose of protecting the fiduciary function of the physicians with respect to the health of their patients, this is the function that guarantees a physician-patient relationship that is healthy, righteous and empathic