When people who want to receive treatment in the field of health apply to the hospital, some mistakes made by doctors or health personnel may occur. These errors in medical intervention may arise from the indifference, inexperience or ignorance of the personnel. All of these and, in a simpler sense, acting against the duty of care while performing medical intervention is called malpractice.
The person who has suffered damage due to these erroneous behaviours of health personnel and their failure to fulfil their duty of care may file a material or moral compensation lawsuit to compensate for the damage. Malpractice, i.e. medical malpractice, can be negligent as well as executive. For example, while the doctor’s application of a wrong treatment is an executive error, not applying any treatment is a negligent error.
Malpractice and complication are different concepts. A treatment may have different consequences for each person. If the doctor has acted in accordance with the requirements and rules of medical science and has shown the necessary care, the negativity that occurs is not malpractice but a complication.
Some situations that may cause malpractice are as follows;
- Misdiagnosis of the doctor
The doctor may not have requested the necessary tests or x-ray images completely. As a result of careless behaviour after image examinations or lack of information, the patient may be misdiagnosed and as a result, the patient may suffer material or moral damage.
- Incorrectly applied treatment
The doctor has made the correct diagnosis but may have incorrectly determined the treatment to be applied. For example, treating the patient with treatment that is not medically necessary, performing surgery when it is not necessary, or forgetting a foreign substance in the patient during surgery is a result of incorrect treatment.
- Failure to inform or enlighten the patient sufficiently
Physicians are obliged to enlighten the patient as a result of the diagnosis and to obtain the patient’s consent about the treatment to be applied. As a result of not informing the patient sufficiently or applying treatment without the patient’s consent, malpractice, i.e. faulty medical intervention, occurs.