Medical Negligence in Greece
CONTENTS
> Why it is particularly demanding
> What you are entitled of
> Why should you entrust us
> Medical negligence in detail
> Archive of facts and cases judged on medical errors
Medical Malpractice (Medical error, Medical fault, Medical mistake, Medical liability)
Claims for medical mistakes combine in the most demanding way the complex sciences of medicine and law. Since it concerns the health of the victim, the most precious human asset and the questioning of the reputation of the doctor and the medical centre, handling such cases requires the highest professional level. For these reasons courts also treat these cases very cautiously.
In Greece there has been lately a growing number of medical faults or medical errors cases. Although there is a significant lag in comparison to the practices in other developed countries, patients are increasingly aware of their rights and demand justice. A big number of Greeks don't even know that there is a possibility of a successful management of a medical malpractice or medical errors in Greece! The Greek courts award more and more medical mistake damages while increasingly doctors and hospitals are covered by insurance.
Medical malpractice, requires a high level of cooperation of skilled and experienced coroners, medical experts, specialists, technical advisors and specialized jurists. The medical documentation within legal framework and the easy-to-understand, based on deep knowledge and effective communication in court are key in explaining, making clear and proving each case in court in order to bestow justice as well as ensuring all necessary steps for the best possible restoration of the damage. Preparation has to be perfect to respond well to all eventual challenges from the legal and expert team of the defendant.
What you are entitled of
Average compensation or "solatium" in legal terms, reached € 623.000 making it the specialty with the highest compensation in Greece You can read here a detailed recent study from the University of Piraeus. An article published based on the same research showed that the average compensation was € 305.093, 65% of claims were awarded to claims where public hospitals were also involved and the specialty with the highest numbers of claims were made against general surgeons. A link to the article is here.
Why entrust All Accidents with your case:
Our philosophy is to offer more and therefore you can claim more.
Our expert partners have extensive experience in accident cases, having participated in hundreds of claims and recoveries in Athens and as well as in other cities in Greece. More about our philosophy and our experts are found at our page "The Company".
An additional asset of our medical partners is the fact that they have checked in practice and identified those external experts who apart from specialized support in a court, are able to advise or undertake the restoration of the damage. Part of the cooperation with us is the continuous advisory/monitoring of the medical evolution of the person hurt, in direct contact with the relevant physicians.
Do not agree to anything before talking to us.
Insurance companies, in their effort to minimize the compensation you deserve may try various ways of approaching you through "very friendly" intermediaries like lawyers, claim managers or social workers.
Your interests are, however, in complete contrast with theirs. Do not agree to anything unless you receive an advice from us. Our specialist will examine and propose without any commitment from your side how to support you best to maximize your satisfaction. Even if you agree formally on something and your medical condition worsens, there may be ways to re-negotiate but it will be more difficult.
In case that, due to the accident you cannot move, a partner of All Accidents can meet you on the location you will indicate, at home or at a medical or rehabilitation facility.
Whatever the cause of the accident may be, resulting in injury or even in death, you can call today at +30 210 7212175 or at +30 6983 077459 for a professional advice. We operate on the principle of No Win, No Pay, so you do not undertake any commitment!
All Accidents will immediately begin investigating the circumstances surrounding your accident and build a strong base for the satisfaction of your claim.
What is Medical Malpractice.
Medical error, medical fault, medical malpractice, medical mistake or medical liability is the wrongful breach of the rules of medical science and practice by the physician or the lack of paying of the general required care that obliges the prudent average representative of the faculty of the physician, who with his action or omissions has caused injury or the creation of bodily harm or even the death to the patient.
There are three levels of legal responsibility of doctors when treating their patients:
1st: the disciplinary liability of doctors towards professional bodies such as National Medical Associations for violations of duties and obligations imposed or defined by the Code of Medical Ethics.
2nd: civil liability towards the patient, when the doctor causes him damage in the exercise of his activity, which gives rise to an obligation for compensation, and finally,
3rd: criminal responsibility, on the basis of which the State is investigating the violation of medical provisions relating to harming the patient's legitimate assets, e.g. for causing bodily harm or death with sentences, which have a repressive character.
Of course, the patient who feels that he has suffered some damage due to medical error or medical mistake usually demand both civil and criminal justice, in order to ask for reasonable compensation respectively and the criminal conviction of a physician.
In all cases the liability of a physician to the patient is examined towards specific conditions, which a court will consider in order to determine whether or not a medical practitioner is liable for any damage caused to a patient.
The first parameter to be considered is whether the physician has all taken all necessary steps when diagnosing, treating a patient or executing a surgery. In other words, it examines whether the doctor acted in accordance with the rules of medical science (lege artis). The doctor, in the practice of medicine, acts with complete freedom, within the framework of generally accepted rules and methods of medical science, as they are based on the results of applied modern scientific research. He/she has the right to select the treatment method, which considers that significantly outperforms against any other, specific for the individual patient, based on the modern rules of medical science, and omits the use of methods that do not have sufficient scientific evidence. The liability measure adopted for the physician is not that of the average person but specifically that of the common prudent diligent physician.
It should also be noted that from the moment the physician can be identified as his/her therapist, which means that he/she has undertaken from the current circumstances the core care of the patient, he/she has a special legal obligation to take all appropriate actions that can contribute to the restoration of the health or the sustaining of the life of the patient. (article 15PK).
Second parameter is the task of truth to the patient. The physician must fully inform the patient in an understandable way of the true state of his health, the content and the results of the proposed medicine actions, the consequences and the potential risks of complications from their implementation, the alternative options available, as well as the likely recovery time (n. 3418/2005, article 11). There have been some issues with the use of medical terms from the side of the physician in the context of the duty of informing the patient.
Third parameter is the clear consent of the patient. The consent is directly related to the obligation to inform the patient, because if your practitioner has failed to report some things to the patient, the consent shall be null and void as a product of erring. The maters of information and consent relate to the so called "therapeutic privilege" of doctors. According to this, the doctor can conceal the truth from the patient or limit the scope of information that according to the above the patient is entitled, if he/she considers that it is for the benefit of the patient and it is medically advisable.
Fourth, the actions or omissions of the physician with regard to the considerations set out above should be connected directly and as a cause of the injury or the death of the patient. That means, that these specific acts or omissions have led to the outcome and not a third factor, such as an infection or a fault in the hospital equipment.
Fifth, I should clarify that the contractual liability of a physician is not linked to the result, because the content of his/her obligations is the attempt to achieve a positive outcome and not the outcome. Namely, what will be judged is also not whether ultimately the patient has recovered from any illness, but if there was a proper scientific treatment of the incident. Even in the cases when the patient died.
To sum up, the practitioner may be considered liable if he/she acted in violation of the above obligations and liable for medical error if this fact resulted in bodily injury or death of the patient.
Illustrative cases of medical negligence
Orthopedic Trauma
There are cases of orthopedic injuries that either they were diagnosed late, partially or wrongly due to ignorance, omissions or lack of sufficient interest. Especially in cases of prosthetic surgeries which occur more and more frequently in our country either the wrong medical device or implant may has been used or it was implanted wrongly with obvious painful results for the patient.
Cosmetic Interventions or Procedures
Cosmetic surgeons often intervene in parts of the body that normally would be the area of specialty of qualified medical physicians. Although the overall level of cosmetic surgery is high, there are human errors and omissions here. For example, nerves, arteries and whole organs are subject to damage. In other cases, not sufficient attention has been paid and infections have developed.
Medication Errors
In Great Britain where there are official figures published, it is estimated that each year 40,000 medication errors occur! In their vast majority they cause a minor injury. However, they can have serious complications or cause damages, even death. Unfortunately, children are more vulnerable to such errors.
Other Cases of Medical Mistakes
Not taking into consideration the medical history, not taking notice in the event of a deterioration of the situation, the failure to operate a surgery in time, damages to nerves or the wrong application of anesthetics with consequent damage to the spinal cord.
Analyses and information on issues related to medical malpractice, on claims and compensations can be found in our archive:
Compensation for medical negligence keep on increasing
Every medical error in Greece "costs" 305.000 Euros
Compensation of 1.303.000€ for medical error includes father and mother in law
Awards for claims for incredible medical errors in surgery at Greek hospitals
30.000 € for loss of one eye due to dentist's tragic error
146.000 € from doctor to patient who died
