Medical Liability in Neurosurgery: Greek Courts Decisions Analysis

Abstract

AIM: To assess the current situation in Greece regarding medical liability in neurosurgery, the involvement of anaesthetists in court decisions, the impact of court cases and decisions, the time taken to reach a final decision, and the relationship between these issues and judicial results. MATERIAL and METHODS: Legal information banks were searched for published court decisions of criminal, civil, administrative and disciplinary content from 1985 to 2021. RESULTS: A total of 52 court decisions were retrieved: 11 criminal court cases and 10 civil cases, including 7 cases of negligent homicide and 14 of bodily injuries. The duration of litigation in 17 cases was 5.5 years, while in 4 cases the duration was 14.5 years. The average compensation paid was €101,701. CONCLUSION: Neurosurgery has a relatively small number of reported complaints of medical negligence compared to other surgical specialties in Greece. Complications of spinal surgeries represent the majority of court cases. There is a need for immediate judicial–legislative reform of the framework for seeking medical liability of doctors