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Medical Malpractice

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Forensic Medicine

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Abstract

Depending on the prevailing legal situation, physicians can be made liable for medical malpractice. The majority of cases involve civil claims for damages and compensation. Although rarer, criminal charges are generally brought in the form of claims of negligent bodily harm or negligent homicide. However, claims of breach of a duty of care, illegal bodily harm despite the patient’s consent, illegal termination of a pregnancy, issuing an erroneous medical certificate, as well as culpable homicide upon patient request are also seen. In addition, professional sanctions in the case of culpable medical error are also possible.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Forensic Medicine, University of Gießen, Gießen, Germany

    Reinhard B. Dettmeyer, Marcel A. Verhoff & Harald F. Schütz

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  1. Reinhard B. Dettmeyer
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  2. Marcel A. Verhoff
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  3. Harald F. Schütz
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Dettmeyer, R.B., Verhoff, M.A., Schütz, H.F. (2014). Medical Malpractice. In: Forensic Medicine. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-38818-7_28

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-38818-7_28

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