Handling Medical Negligence Cases
Review the background materials and the following essay:
Bae, K. (2019, February 2). When should medical malpractice be criminally culpable? Journal of Health and Biomedical Law blog. https://sites(dot)suffolk(dot)edu/jhbl/2019/02/02/when-should-medical-malpractice-be-criminally-culpable/
There is a tension between the different stakeholders in cases of medical negligence. Some argue that medical negligence should be handled as a civil legal matter, while others push for it to be handled as criminal.
Make the argument as to whether medical negligence cases should be handled in civil court or in criminal court.
Your answer should not be simply opinion, but should be supported by evidence from the background readings as well as your own research.
Medical errors are the complications resulting from medical activities, including diagnosis, medication, or surgery. These complications include physical injury, loss of function, and death of patients. Every year, medical negligence is reported to cause more than 251,000 deaths in the United States (Bae, 2019). Although medical errors may occur unintentionally, some may be premeditated and preventable.
Medical malpractices may be handled as civil suits or criminal cases, depending on the nature of the errors. Errors are considered civil suits if they fulfill the elements of damage, breach, causation, and injury. In such circumstances, the medical personnel is required to compensate the victim. On the other hand, the case could be considered criminal if the offender meets the criteria above and has a criminal state of mind. In case of fatalities, the physician may be charged with manslaughter or murder in a criminal court.
Medical errors should be considered civil or criminal, depending on whether they meet the criteria. For instance, in a study analyzing 85 civil malpractice suits, 56 cases resulted from medical staff errors. The medical negligence led to 52 cases of death, and 33 patients were injured (Ahn et al., 2020). The cases were considered civil suits because th...