Alessandro Feola1, Chiara Minotti2, Daniela Marchetti3, Marco Caricato4, Gabriella Teresa Capolupo4, Luigi Tonino Marsella5, Giuseppe La Monaca2. 1. Department of Experimental Medicine, University of Campania "Luigi Vanvitelli", Via Luciano Armanni 5, 80138 Napoli, Italy. 2. Bioethics and Humanities Research Unit, Campus Bio-Medico University of Rome, Via Alvaro del Portillo 21, 00128 Roma, Italy. 3. Safety and Bioethics Department, Section of Legal Medicine, Catholic University of the Sacred Heart, Fondazione Policlinico "A. Gemelli" IRCCS, Largo Francesco Vito 1, 00168 Roma, Italy. 4. Colorectal Surgery Unit, Campus Bio-Medico University of Rome, Via Alvaro del Portillo 21, 00128 Roma, Italy. 5. Department of Biomedicine and Prevention, "Tor Vergata" University of Rome, Via Montpellier 1, 00155 Roma, Italy.
Abstract
(1) Introduction: Medical malpractice claims against both health institutions and physicians are a crucial topic in Italy, as well as in other countries, particularly regarding civil proceedings. Our study reports an analysis of all of the malpractice judgments concerning plastic surgery decided in the Civil Court of Rome between 2012 and 2016. (2) Methods: the database of the Observatory Project on Medical Responsibility (ORMe) was analyzed, which collects all of the judgments of the Civil Court of Rome, that is, the first instance district court. Therefore, neither the jurisprudence of the second level court nor that of the Supreme Court was taken into account. (3) Results: 144 judgments concerning plastic surgery were delivered in the five-year period of 2012-2016 (corresponding to 10.6% of total professional liability verdicts of the Civil Court of Rome in the same period). In 101/144 cases (70.14%), the claim was accepted. A total of €4,727,579.00 was paid in compensation for plastic surgery malpractice claims, with a range from a minimum amount of €1555.96 to a maximum amount of €1,425,155.00 and an average compensation of €46,807.71 per claim that was significantly lower compared to other surgical disciplines. (4) Conclusions: Our data confirm that the analyzed branch has a high litigation rate, with a prevalence of convictions for cosmetic procedures over reconstructive ones, both for malpractice and for violation of the informed consent. Plastic surgery is also confirmed among those branches in which the professionals are more frequently sued compared to health institutions.
(1) Introduction: Medical malpractice claims against both health institutions and physicians are a crucial topic in Italy, as well as in other countries, particularly regarding civil proceedings. Our study reports an analysis of all of the malpractice judgments concerning plastic surgery decided in the Civil Court of Rome between 2012 and 2016. (2) Methods: the database of the Observatory Project on Medical Responsibility (ORMe) was analyzed, which collects all of the judgments of the Civil Court of Rome, that is, the first instance district court. Therefore, neither the jurisprudence of the second level court nor that of the Supreme Court was taken into account. (3) Results: 144 judgments concerning plastic surgery were delivered in the five-year period of 2012-2016 (corresponding to 10.6% of total professional liability verdicts of the Civil Court of Rome in the same period). In 101/144 cases (70.14%), the claim was accepted. A total of €4,727,579.00 was paid in compensation for plastic surgery malpractice claims, with a range from a minimum amount of €1555.96 to a maximum amount of €1,425,155.00 and an average compensation of €46,807.71 per claim that was significantly lower compared to other surgical disciplines. (4) Conclusions: Our data confirm that the analyzed branch has a high litigation rate, with a prevalence of convictions for cosmetic procedures over reconstructive ones, both for malpractice and for violation of the informed consent. Plastic surgery is also confirmed among those branches in which the professionals are more frequently sued compared to health institutions.
Entities:
Keywords:
medical jurisprudence; medical liability; plastic surgery
Authors: Giuseppe Davide Albano; Arianna Rifiorito; Ginevra Malta; Erika Serena Sorrentino; Vincenzo Falco; Alberto Firenze; Antonina Argo; Stefania Zerbo Journal: Int J Environ Res Public Health Date: 2022-07-11 Impact factor: 4.614