Medical Liability: Review of a Whole Year of Judgments of the Civil Court of Rome.

Michele Treglia,Lucilla De Luca,Luigi Tonino Marsella,Margherita Pallocci,Jacopo Giammatteo,Pierluigi Passalacqua,Alberto Michele Cisterna,Silvestro Mauriello

doi:10.3390/ijerph18116019

Abstract

Background: Complaints about medical malpractice have increased over time in Italy, as well as other countries around the world. This scenario, perceived by some as a “malpractice crisis”, is a subject of debate in health law and medical law. The costs arising from medical liability lawsuits weigh not only on individual professionals but also on the budgets of healthcare facilities, many of which in Italy are supported by public funds. A full understanding of the phenomenon of medical malpractice appears necessary in order to manage this spreading issue and possibly to reduce the health liability costs. Methods: The retrospective review concerned all the judgments drawn up by the Judges of the Civil Court of Rome, XIII Chamber (competent and specialized section for professional liability trials) published between January 2018 and February 2019. Results: The analysis of data concerning the involved parties showed that in 84.6% of the judgments taken into account, one or more health facilities were sued, while in 58.2% of cases, one or more health workers were present among the defendants. When healthcare providers are the only ones to be summoned, it is dentists and aesthetic doctors/plastic surgeons who undergo most of the claims. In the overall period analyzed, the amount paid was 23,489,254.08 EUR with an average of 163,119.82 EUR. Conclusion: The evidence provided by the reported data is a useful tool to understand medical malpractice in Italy, especially with regard to the occurrence of the phenomenon at a legal level, an aspect still hardly mentioned by existing literature.

Highlights

The concept of medical tort has ancient origins
The actual analysis of the judgments was performed by three different auditors, experts in the field of medical liability
In 51% of cases (144 judgments out of 280 analyzed), some medical malpractice pro51%detected; of cases

Summary

Introduction

The concept of medical tort has ancient origins. In Roman law, if the Lex Cornelia settled a series of crimes by physicians, the Lex Aquilia (the so-called “Aquilian”liability takes its etymological origin), introduced a penalty grading scale, including further criminal hypotheses such as abandonment and experimentation as well as the possibility to compensate for the damage caused.An article of the Corpus Iuris Civilis introduced the punishability of physicians for their unskillful conduct.After the fall of the Roman Empire and the rise of the Goths, the issue was solved in a much more rough way. The concept of medical tort has ancient origins. In Roman law, if the Lex Cornelia settled a series of crimes by physicians, the Lex Aquilia Liability takes its etymological origin), introduced a penalty grading scale, including further criminal hypotheses such as abandonment and experimentation as well as the possibility to compensate for the damage caused. An article of the Corpus Iuris Civilis introduced the punishability of physicians for their unskillful conduct. The general concept of professional malpractice appears in English legal doctrine since the early 17th century. In 1768, Sir William Blackstone, in his famous work, Commentaries on the Laws of England, introduced the concept of mala praxis ( the term malpractice, currently used), “Injuries . In 1768, Sir William Blackstone, in his famous work, Commentaries on the Laws of England, introduced the concept of mala praxis ( the term malpractice, currently used), “Injuries . . . by the neglect or unskillful [sic] management

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