Editorial: Pediatric Specificities of Medical Liability: Improvement Measures in Pediatric Settings

Frontiers in Pediatrics

article

Paola Frati¹  Raffaele La Russa³  Marzia Duse¹ 

[1] Department of Anatomical, Forensic and Orthopaedic Sciences, Sapienza University of Rome;Istituto di Ricovero e Cura a Carattere Scientifico (IRCSS) Neuromed Mediterranean Neurological Institute;Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, University of Foggia

关键词: medical liability;    legal medicine;    neurosurgery;    health and safety;    risk managemenent;    autopsia;   

DOI  :  10.3389/fped.2021.667020

学科分类：社会科学、人文和艺术（综合）

来源: Frontiers

【 摘 要 】

Medical liability is a major issue in the health care system, involving both legal and medical professions. Pediatric is at high risk of social blame in case of malpractice because the victims are children. The aim of the Frontiers in Pediatrics Research Topic about medical liability andimprovement measures in pediatric setting, was to perform an analysis of current issues about this theme and provide tools and solutions for medico-legal and clinical practice. A problem that often arises in cases of alleged medical malpractice with a fatal outcome for children and infants, especially in civil trials, is that of not having performed an autopsy examination. Bertozzi et al. exhibited a new case series of autopsies on infants for which sudden death had arisen a dispute over emergency care. The response of the histopathological investigation had confirmed in all cases the diagnosis of acute bronchiolitis, exonerating doctors from any liability. Similarly, Di Nunno et al. have published an interesting case report on another case of alleged malpractice for the sudden death of a 4 year-old child. The autopsy made it possible to identify a compressive syndrome supported by a thymoma, a very rare pathology given the patient’s age, as the cause of death. Also in this case the outcome of the autopsy led to the exclusion of medical liability. In both studies, the authors concluded for indispensability of medico-legal autopsy and histological examination in order to clarify the causal relationships between medical conduct and event.

【 授权许可】

CC BY