Characteristics of Medico-Legal Cases and Errors in Documentation of Medicolegal Reports at a Teaching Hospital in Nepal. A Descriptive Cross-Sectional Study

Abstract

Introduction: Medicolegal cases (MLCs) are cases that require legal investigation to determine responsibility for injuries or illnesses. Errors in medicolegal reports (MLRs) can cause misinterpretations and legal disputes that can have serious consequences for the parties involved. Therefore, this study was conducted to explore the characteristics of MLCs and to identify errors in MLRs furnished by doctors. Methods: This was a descriptive cross-sectional study conducted from August 2020 to January 2021 at the Department of Forensic Medicine, Manipal College of Medical Sciences (MCOMS), Pokhara, Nepal. Ethical approval from the Institutional Review Committee was obtained and a total of 173 MLRs were analyzed for characteristics of MLCs and errors in documentation. All registered MLCs were included in the study, regardless of type, age, or gender. The study, however, did not include any brought-dead cases. A statistical package for the Social Sciences, version 20, was used to analyze the data and represented as frequency, percentage and ratio. Results: A total of 173 MLRs were analyzed in this study. Male patients 109 (63%) accounted for the majority of the patients in MLCs. Maximum cases, 66 (38.15%), occurred in the age group 15-29 years. More than half of the MLCs were related to road traffic accidents (RTAs) 55(31.79%). Blunt injury 127 (73.41%) was the commonest type of injury in the majority of MLCs. The study found multiple errors in the documentation of MLRs. Conclusion: RTAs comprised the major proportion of MLCs. No MLR written by doctors were found to be free of errors.