Alonso C
Departamento de Medicina, Universidad de Valparaíso, Chile.
Rev Med Chil. 1997 Dec;125(12):1508-16.
Malpractice and negligence lawsuits against physician have significantly increased lately. Therefore, the legal and ethical setting of this problem in our country must be specified. There are multiple causes that lead to attribute the responsibility of a determinate damage to medical practice, but the most important is an inadequate medical-patient-family relationship. Lawsuits are transcendental for physicians and affect them in several ways. Several measures are proposed to reduce them. Considering the increasing importance of solidarity and shared compensations, the responsibility of institutions and other professionals, besides physicians, is analyzed.