Citation

Martin-Fumadó C, Gómez-Durán EL, Rodríguez-Pazos M, Arimany-Manso J. Actas Esp. Psiquiatr. 2015; 43(6): 205-212.

Affiliation

Servicio de Responsabilidad Profesional. Área de Praxis. Colegio de Médicos de Barcelona. Consejo de Colegios de Médicos de Cataluña. Barcelona, España Unidad de Medicina Legal y Forense. Departamento de Salud Pública. Facultad de Medicina. Universidad de Barcelona. Barcelona, España.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2015, STM Editores)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

26631303

Abstract

INTRODUCTION: The safety of patients and the risk of malpractice claims are overriding concerns in medicine and psychiatry. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Claims for alleged malpractice in psychiatry managed by the Council of Colleges of Physicians of Catalonia between 1986 and 2009 were analyzed to evaluate their clinical and legal characteristics.

RESULTS: Ninety-four malpractice claims were found in a 23-year period, mainly claims related to diagnosis (63.83%, including assessment of suicide risk) and the legal figure of serious professional negligence resulting in death (46.8%). Most claims were for hospital (62.77%), emergency (52.5%), and team (53.75%) care. The possible affected party was male (51.58%) with a mean age of 36.6 years. In one-half of the cases, the harm claimed was death. The cases involved 139 specialists, predominantly male (69.57%), with a mean age of 41 years, and of Spanish nationality (91.4%). The time between the medical act and the respective claim was 1.28 years and the time to resolution was 2.68 years. Most of the cases (77.66%) were processed through the courts. The outcome of the cases was filing or dismissal in 91 (95.77%), conviction in 2 (2.81%), and settlement in 1 (1.41%).

CONCLUSIONS: The cumulative incidence of 0.013 claims (1.35%) in 23 years suggests that there is a very low risk of lawsuits in psychiatry, with a similarly low rate of sentences of professional liability and awards for financial compensation. Specific actions could improve clinical safety, particularly in suicide risk assessment.

Language: en