A Clinicomedical Jurisprudence Approach to Medical Disputes

Yook, Hee Suk; Lee, Young Hak; Lee, Ho

Abstract

This study reviews the various types of medical accidents that have emerged over the past two years in hospitals where an agency specializing in medical disputes has been established, as well as the process through which medical accidents are resolved and the results thereof. In addition, the role of these specialized agencies in resolving medical disputes is also analyzed herein. The effective resolution of medical disputes through either judicial or non-judicial means requires that the organization overseeing the resolution of the relevant issue be objective and fair, able to forge independent decisions, and possess specialized knowledge of the issue at hand. The most significant advantage possessed by medicolegal offices since their inception has been the fact that they have featured specialists in the relevant fields who have been able in many cases to correctly perceive the central issues at play in a medical dispute from early onwards, and that these have promoted the establishment of reasonable means through which to resolve such medical disputes based on medical reviews and legal analyses. These medicolegal offices have been designed to create an opportunity to directly discuss the medical complaints raised by the plaintiffs with the medical staff, and for the plaintiffs to receive firsthand explanations with regards to their medical questions and suspicions. This process has helped to resolve numerous medical disputes. To this end, medicolegal offices are encouraged to play the role of objective mediators helping those involved in medical disputes reach settlements acceptable to all parties, and to shy away from the extreme method known as medical litigation that seeks resolutions which favor only one of the concerned parties.