Journal of Legal Medicine最新文献

Medical malpractice insurance coverage and considerations in the United States remain focal points of substantial discourse, particularly for anesthesiology. This study provides a structured and comprehensive overview of malpractice insurance plan coverage and costs in anesthesiology practice while focusing on two pivotal aspects of the financial elements of medical malpractice: shifting trends in medical malpractice insurance costs and transitions in the medical malpractice liability insurance market. By incorporating new empirical data from a survey by the American Society of Anesthesiologists, which targeted medical malpractice insurers, this review exposes new dimensions within the arena of medical malpractice insurance. The study underscores the fluid nature of medical malpractice insurance and its costs, accentuating challenges anesthesiologists encounter when procuring medical malpractice coverage and articulating the ongoing influence of fluctuations in malpractice-insurance costs and the associated legal considerations for anesthesiologists.

Sexual boundary violations by physicians are receiving increased public awareness as a result of disturbing, high-profile cases of abuse and assault. In the area of sexual relations with current patients, rules prohibiting such conduct are both clear and justified. In contrast, rules governing sexual relations between physicians and former patients and between physicians and the relatives of patients vary considerably among jurisdictions and among specialties in an illogical and often unjust patchwork. This article calls for a reassessment of such rules with an emphasis on consistency among jurisdictions, uniformity among specialties, and an operationalizable system for permitting some such relationships in a manner that balances the goals of protecting vulnerable parties and upholding their autonomy.

Physicians are expected to ensure that patients are meaningfully informed and have voluntarily consented prior to engaging in any medical interventions upon a competent patient with decisional capacity. One aspect of informed consent is the disclosure of information that a reasonable patient might require to make a knowledgeable decision. A potential exception to this principle arises regarding the disclosure of a surgeon's degree of skill compared to that of their competitors. Whether or not a surgeon has an ethical obligation to disclose relative success rates becomes even more challenging with regard to facial feminization surgery (FFS) for transgender women, where the success of outcomes is highly subjective. This essay explores legal and ethical considerations regarding the disclosure of comparative surgical outcomes for patients pursuing FFS.

Practitioners of medicine have a moral as well as legal obligation to serve their patients to the best of their ability, and in recent years the medical profession throughout the world has affirmed this principle. But where there is negligence of this sacred duty, a claim arises. Most civil claims are governed by the law of limitation, which restricts the time in which a plaintiff can bring a suit. The period of limitation varies depending on the type of claim. One of the exceptions to this law of limitation is the discovery rule. The rule can extend the period of limitation when the harm is not obvious or is latent. This article focuses on the different parameters of the discovery rule and the emerging judicial approach adopted in India.

European Union (EU) and non-EU countries have adopted different medical procedures for the issuance and renewal of a driver's license showing relevant matters of concern. In Europe, EU directives have been only partially supplemented with national laws, and there is a paucity of evidence-based criteria and methods for fitness-to-drive assessment. For instance, there is no agreement on standards for establishing which is the competent authority charged with the medical examination. Furthermore, license conditions, restrictions, or vehicle modifications, which appear as "limited use" codes on the driver's license are not regulated. This may generate confusion and deformity when it comes to the medico-legal evaluation, with potential ethical implications due to lack of transparency and equity and legal disputes between citizens and competent authorities. In this article, Italian experts on fitness-to-drive medical assessment highlight some major issues concerning the medical driving assessment activity in the EU. The Italian experience is shown as a case study, which is representative of other EU member states, for launching a call for evidence-based consensus documents and scientific guidelines on this topic, which may be helpful to international regulators and medico-legal stakeholders.