A research on examination of medical errors through court judgments

Abstract

Aim: Medical errors are one of the most important and chronic problems of health care systems. In this study, medical error cases decided by the Supreme Court were examined. Materials-Methods: The work is retrospective, descriptive and analytical, and it is limited to civil court decisions on a suit for error. Sixty court decisions that were randomly selected in the study were obtained via www.yargitay.gov.tr and www.kazanci.com.tr. The decisions were examined in detail by researchers. Results: According to the research result, it is understood that the medical errors mostly occur in gynecology and obstetrics and general surgery branches. Treatment errors are the most important cause of medical errors. Material and moral damage ranks first, and death ranks the second due to medical errors. It has been revealed that the predominant responsibilities of medical errors are on physicians in large part. The two most common causes of medical errors are the choice of the wrong treatment method and surgical errors. Conclusion: In the light of the analyzes, it is seen that medical errors are largely human-induced factors. Therefore, establishing mechanism to minimize medical errors, increasing the level of awareness of medical staff about medical errors, to minimize wrong treatment method and surgical errors thought to be effective strategies to prevent medical errors.