Dental Malpractice Cases in Turkey: Evidence Based on High Court Decisions

Abstract

This study aims to examine dental malpractice cases in Turkey through the Supreme Court’s decisions. In this study, the dental malpractice decisions of the Supreme Court of Appeals, one of the highest judicial bodies in Turkey, are evaluated. It is seen that 83.3% of dental malpractice lawsuits filed against dentists occur in private enterprises (private clinics, practice, private hospitals, etc.). It was also discovered that most of the decisions were made in 2014, 2015, and 2018. Furthermore, the majority of the decisions (93.7%) are compensation cases. The cases were brought mainly by adults (89.6%). The patients mostly applied to the dental clinic for a dental prosthesis (25%) and implant (18.8%). Choosing the wrong treatment method (66.7%) and service failure (14.6%) are the leading causes of malpractice. Health consequences such as severe pain (31.3%), inability to fully perform the chewing function due to defective prosthesis (10.4%), mouth sores, and difficulty in swallowing (6.3%) occurred in patients. It was determined that 7 (14.6%) cases had to undergo a second operation due to malpractice. The average amount of pecuniary and non-pecuniary compensation demanded from physicians is 53.431 TL. The majority of the decisions (52.1%) were reversed under Article 428 of the HUMK (Law of Civil Procedure). Like other healthcare professionals, dentists are faced with a malpractice lawsuit and can pay high compensation penalties. There is a need to develop individual, institutional, and national strategies for malpractice, and necessary precautions must be taken.