Medical and Legal Sectors Call for Easing Legal Liability for Medical Malpractice... "Medical Accident Handling Special Act" Is Merely a Shell

In the medical and legal fields, there have been calls for easing legal liability for medical malpractice to overcome the crisis in essential medical care.

Professor Hyungwook Park of Dankook University College of Medicine is delivering a presentation on the topic of "The Crisis of Essential Medical Care and Measures to Alleviate Legal Responsibility" at a forum held on the 12th at the Grand InterContinental Seoul Parnas in Gangnam-gu, Seoul, during "The 15th Korea Healthcare Congress 2024" (KHC 2024).
Photo by Taewon Choi peaceful1@

원본보기 아이콘

Medical professors and lawyers attending the forum titled "The Crisis of Essential Medical Care and Measures to Ease Legal Liability" at 'The 15th Korea Healthcare Congress 2024' (KHC 2024), held by the Korea Hospital Association on the 12th at the Grand InterContinental Seoul Parnas, expressed these views.

Park Hyung-wook, a professor at Dankook University College of Medicine and a presenter, stated, "The medical community argues that criminal liability should be exempted in cases without intentional or gross negligence," adding, "Some legal scholars claim that no legislation exempts only doctors from criminal liability in other countries, but this overlooks the details of the issue." He further explained, "Unlike our civil law country, common law countries basically do not criminally punish negligence. Criminal punishment is applied only in cases of gross negligence causing death, and in the UK, from 2013 to 2018, only 23 doctors were prosecuted, with just 4 convicted."

He also noted, "Treating patients in life-threatening conditions is inherently risky. If there is no social protection against such risks in cases where treatment is socially necessary despite the danger, people tend to avoid these risky tasks altogether," emphasizing, "In countries like Germany, France, and Japan, which have criminal penalties for negligence, the judiciary exercises restraint, making criminal punishment for medical acts extremely limited, which offers significant implications."

He argued that excessive legal liability forces doctors to leave essential medical care. He said, "In the past, when compensation amounts for medical accidents increased in the US, hospitals responded by refusing to treat high-risk patients (defensive medicine) and raising medical fees, while insurers increased premiums. The government then intervened by setting compensation caps," adding, "In Korea, since such measures are not possible, doctors have no choice but to leave essential medical care."

He continued, "Occasionally, there are calls in the US for criminal punishment for medical malpractice," but "each time, patient safety groups oppose criminal penalties for medical malpractice, fearing that worsening medical conditions would further harm patient safety."

Opinions were also raised regarding the 'Medical Accident Handling Special Act,' which limits prosecution for medical accidents on the premise that all medical personnel enroll in liability insurance and mutual aid, as the government has announced it will promote. Hyun Doo-ryun, a lead attorney at the law firm SeSeung and a panelist, expressed skepticism about the likelihood of the special act being enacted and doubted its practical benefits for the medical community even if enacted. He explained, "The special act excludes cases of death or serious injury from exemption. Since essential medical care involves life-critical medical acts, there are many cases of death or serious injury."

He added, "If exemption is not granted based solely on outcomes, essential medical care cannot be protected, which contradicts the purpose of the law," and said, "The special act proposed by the government now appears to be a mere showpiece, an empty shell of a law."

Jeon Seong-hoon, legal director of the Korea Medical Association Medical Liability Mutual Aid Association, also stated, "The Medical Accident Handling Special Act proposed by the government requires significant revision. It lacks provisions for death, making it ineffective, and thus the medical community sees no need to discuss it," adding, "The requirement for compulsory medical dispute mediation to receive exemption is also unrealistic."

He also pointed out the impracticality of liability insurance and mutual aid. Jeon explained, "Most large hospitals do not subscribe to insurance. Because fatal accidents frequently occur in large hospitals, they must purchase very expensive policies and make frequent payouts," adding, "Previously, some large hospitals had insurance, but they concluded that it was more advantageous to establish internal legal teams to handle cases because insurance premiums were unaffordable."

Furthermore, he noted, "Among those who file criminal complaints for medical malpractice, very few are motivated by a desire to clear grievances rather than financial gain. Most use criminal prosecution as a means to obtain compensation, and investigators are well aware of this."

© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.