Abstract
The relationship between patients and dentists today is more worn and less based on trust, which can lead to high rates of lawsuits related to civil liability and dental malpractice. Aim: verify if there has been an increase in the number of lawsuits related to questioned dental treatments, and against dentists registered in the city of São Paulo (SP), Brazil, from 2012 to 2017. Methods: We outlined an overview based on the list from the São Paulo Council of Dentistry containing 30,238 registered dentists in the city of São Paulo, and searched for lawsuits on the public base of the São Paulo State Court’s. Results: The search, after the inclusion and exclusion criteria, found 247 lawsuits, with dental implants as the most involved specialty. The total indemnities requested ranged from R$ 227.42 to R$ 937,000.00, but no indemnity granted exceeded the amount of R$ 100,000.00. Conclusion: According to the analysis of cases, there is a progressive increase in the number of civil liability lawsuits against dentists involving dental malpractice litigance.
Highlights
With the advent of the Brazilian Code of Consumer Protection, which has provided patients greater knowledge in regards to their rights and easier access to justice, dentists have been increasingly faced with complaints about treatment and/or lack of information in lawsuits[1].The dentist’s civil liability is defined as the duty to repair damage caused to the patient[2]
A lawsuit in Brazil can rely on the presence of a technical assistant who can be appointed by any of the parties involved, and who can assist during the lawsuit[5]
From the 247 lawsuits involving dental malpractice litigance that corresponded to the inclusion criteria of the study, it was observed an increase over the years (Figure 1)
Summary
With the advent of the Brazilian Code of Consumer Protection, which has provided patients greater knowledge in regards to their rights and easier access to justice, dentists have been increasingly faced with complaints about treatment and/or lack of information in lawsuits[1].The dentist’s civil liability is defined as the duty to repair damage caused to the patient[2]. The Brazilian Civil Code characterizes an unlawful act and its obligation of reparation can be found in articles 186, “that who, by voluntary action or omission, negligence or recklessness, violates law and causes harm to others, even if exclusively moral, commits an unlawful act”; and 927, “that who, by an unlawful act, causes harm to another, is obliged to repair it”[3]. A civil liability is characterized by the guilty conduct of the professional, damage suffered by the patient, and a causal link between them, generating the obligation of pecuniary reparation (material, moral, and/or esthetic damage)[4]. An impartial professional acting as an expert witness can be appointed by the judge to carry out an examination and prepare a report, which aims to clarify the technical and scientific issues of the case. A lawsuit in Brazil can rely on the presence of a technical assistant who can be appointed by any of the parties involved, and who can assist during the lawsuit[5]
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