Understanding of the Court of Justice of Pará on medical error in the criminal sphere

Main Article Content

Isabel de Fátima Alvim Braga
Laila Zelkcovicz Ertler
Helena Beatriz da Rocha Garbin

Abstract

Introduction: The medical error process usually has a profound impact on both professional and personal life of the doctor. However, since the judicialization of medicine is recent, there is a need to study the facts from the dual perspective of medicine and law. Objective: To analyze the criminal proceedings of the Pará Court of Justice. Methods: A keyword search was performed on the website of the Court of Justice of the State of Pará (TJPA) with the search term: “medical error”. Results: Forty-two sentences were found. Of these, 24 were excluded because: four were repetitions; 19 were crimes not committed by doctors and one was defamation. In addition, one prescription occurred and three cases had not yet been tried at first instance. Of the 14 lawsuits judged, there were six convictions and eight acquittals. The distribution by specialties was as follows: eight cases in obstetrics/gynechology (Ob-Gyn); four in clinical emergency; two in general surgery; one in anesthesiology/ plastic surgery; one in ophthalmology; one in orthopedics; and one in radiology. Conclusion: The cases of accusation of alleged errors committed by doctors in the exercise of their specialties are still rare in the state of Pará. Specialties related to surgery and emergency situations, especially Ob-Gyn, seem to be the main ones involved in this type of process.

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How to Cite
Braga, I. de F. A., Ertler, L. Z., & Garbin, H. B. da R. (2017). Understanding of the Court of Justice of Pará on medical error in the criminal sphere. ABCS Health Sciences, 42(3). https://doi.org/10.7322/abcshs.v42i3.987
Section
Original Articles
Author Biographies

Laila Zelkcovicz Ertler, Medicina Interna, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ) – Rio de Janeiro (RJ)

Médica Neurocirurgiã

Professora de Medicina na UFRJ

Helena Beatriz da Rocha Garbin, Departamento de Saúde Pública, FIOCRUZ – Rio de Janeiro (RJ)

Médica e doutora em saúde pública

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