Medical Negligence Dispute Resolution in China

Abstract

Medical negligence is an important issue in China today, threatening to undermine the party-state policy objectives of social stability and the right to health, thus requiring effective solutions. China’s response includes a dispute resolution regime for issues of medical negligence, structured as a bifurcated administrative and court regime and supplemented by mediation. This Note examines this dispute resolution regime, its difficulties and possible ways of reform. More specifically, it explores whether the current assignment of liability is appropriate when considered in the context of the system’s relationship to the policy objective of social stability and suggests that social stability may be more efficiently achieved by greater utilization of preventative measures. Keywords: medical negligence; medical disputes; China; mediation; social stability; right to health.