Analysis of closed medical litigation in urology

Abstract

PurposeThe objective of this study was to provide a descriptive understanding of the characteristics of malpractice litigation related to urology by examining court cases.Materials and MethodsA total of 6,074 court cases related to medical malpractice litigation filed between 2005 and 2010 were received from the Lower Courts, the Appellate Courts, and the Supreme Court of Korea. Of the received cases, 34 urology-related civil proceedings were analyzed. The following information was compiled and investigated from the cases: background, age and sex of patient, categorization of the defendant, opinion of the court, amount claimed and awarded in damages, type of medical treatment involved, and negative effects resulting from the medical accident.ResultsThe average amount in damages paid out to plaintiffs in this research was 27,186,504±32,371,008 Korean won (KRW) (range, 1,000,000–100,000,000 KRW). A total of 9 of the 34 analyzed cases (26.5%) ruled in favor of the plaintiff, with all 9 cases involving a surgery. An analysis of the surgery sites further revealed that the penis was the most frequently litigated over site of surgery, making up 14 of the 35 sites (40.0%).ConclusionsInformation regarding urology malpractice lawsuits should be made available to help prevent further disputes and litigation. Continuous efforts must be expended in the prevention of accidents and disputes, alongside research into urology-related cases beyond 2010. Extensive cause analysis and recurrence prevention methods must also be researched to enhance overall patient safety.

Medicolegal implications from litigations involving necrotizing fasciitis

“…First, the details of the medical processes were not accurately assessed due to the characteristics of judgments, which described only the details required for the decision. Nevertheless, we reviewed some previous studies regarding medical malpractice and judicial precedents [15][16][17][18][19][20][21][28][29][30] and tried to set appropriate variables for quantitative analysis and structure for qualitative analysis. Second, there were only a few litigation cases related to NF, meaning a longer period was needed to retrieve cases; therefore, judgments in the past might not reflect the current clinical practice.…”

“…Subsequently, the researchers categorized the cases into 3 groups based on medical accident, the occurrence of NF, and breach of duty. For medical accidents, we analyzed the following variables that have been used in previous studies [15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22]: the yearly distribution of NF cases, the period of the resolution, type of medical institution, specialized department, patient's sex and age, and the rate of loss of labor capacity as a result of damage. The decision, limitation of liability, and the amount claimed and awarded relating to the medical accident were analyzed.…”

Risque médico-légal en urologie : analyse d’un portefeuille d’assurés auprès d’une compagnie d’assurances française entre 2009 et 2018

“…Il est possible que la qualité et la durée de la relation médecin-patient dans le cadre de cette spécialité médico-chirurgicale, la remise systématique d'une feuille d'information de l'AFU expliquant les bénéfices et les risques spécifiques à chaque intervention permettent d'éviter les mises en cause pour défaut d'information. Cette spécificité franc ¸aise a anticipé les conclusions d'autres analyses des pratiques [3,7,[9][10][11].…”

Medical malpractice related to dialysis and vascular access: An analysis of lawsuit judgements in South Korea

“…We analyzed publicly accessible legal judgments in the database of the judicial system of the Supreme Court of Korea. This database contains judgments from civil proceedings tried from the district court to the Supreme Court level [ 15 , 16 ]. Identifiable information has been removed from the data.…”