Professional liability: assessment of court sentences for lawsuits against dentists in Peru.
Keywords:
dentistry, liability, lawsuit, legal medicine, forensic science, court sentencesAbstract
Introduction: The number of reported dental malpractice cases has increased in recent years. The aim of this study was to analyze the characteristics of Peruvian court sentences related to dental procedures.
Materials and methods: In the present descriptive study, 33 sentences issued by the civil court of Peru, from 2011 to 2016 were collected. Useful information from sentences was extracted and analyzed using the SPSS 18 software.
Results: Data showed that dentists were found guilty in 84.8% of sentences due to the abscence of suitability in dental treatments. Males dentists (61.1%) were involved in more cases than women. Prosthodontics (33.3%) was the dental specialty subject to most claims.
Conclusions: Dentists like other health professionals are ruled in their practice by the legal rules in the country they practice. As part of dental performances and in order to avoid claims, having a full clinical history and informed consent should be mandatory.
