Malpractice allegations in adult and pediatric emergency departments resulting in death

Objective: The aim of this study was to increase the awareness of physicians working in adult and pediatric emergency departments (ED) about malpractice allegations.
Methods: A retrospective analysis was made of cases with malpractice allegations occurring in EDs from among the lawsuit files decided by the First Specialization Board of the Istanbul Forensic Medicine Institute between 01/01/2012 -31/12/2014.
Results: Evaluation was made of 556 cases, comprising 357 (64.2%) males and 199 (35.8%) females, with a mean age of 38.92±24.8 years (min: 0, max: 87), with the highest number of cases in the 40-59 years age group (n=157, 28.2%). Two-thirds (n=377, 67.8%) of the cases with alleged medical malpractice occurred in a public hospital. The Board decided that 24.4% (n: 136) of the cases were medical malpractice. In a total of 556 cases, 1102 physicians were accused and 151 physicians (13.7%) were found to be at fault by the Board.
More than half of the physicians accused of medical malpractice (51.7%) were general practitioners. The most common cause of malpractice in 136 files was diagnostic error (n= 79, 58.1%). The most common actions of malpractice were failure to diagnose on time, and misdiagnosis (n=29, 21.3%). The most frequent diagnosis was trauma (n: 156, 28.1%).
Conclusions: Most of the malpractice allegations against the physicians working in the ED were unfounded and dismissed by the Board. In order to avoid diagnostic errors, it can be recomended that novice general practitioners should not be employed alone in EDs without the support of more experienced colleagues.