• The Korean Society of Law and Medicine
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• v.9 no.1
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• pp.57-127
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• 2008

In medical malpractice lawsuits, negligence is generally defined as conduct that is culpable because it falls short of what a reasonable person would do to protect another individual from a foreseeable risks of harm. Thus, the essence of negligence is a breach of obligations to be attentive, and the breach of obligations to be is negligence. However, whether negligence is or not depends on time, place, litigation forms and the judge since the meaning of negligence is wavering on the basis of abstract and normative judgment. In this thesis, what is medical negligence, a breach of obligations of attention for a doctor in medical malpractice lawsuits, would be it further enacted that doctors have the responsibility to protect the patients as a subordinate duty due to a principle of faith and sincerity besides the main duty for medical contract-performance since the suit is a litigation form to be based on responsibilities of experts, especially doctors, though having factors that are non-contractual as a trait for medical treatment. Further on the concept, when the plaintiff asserts and proves a specific fact from the recent moderation of the burden of proof about medical malpractices, whether the court should find a true bill in medical malpractice actually or not has been discussed.

• The Korean Society of Law and Medicine
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• v.8 no.1
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• pp.215-234
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• 2007

The mission of the doctors is to take care of human life, body and health through the medical behaviors such as diagnosis and treatment. Under this job propensity, the doctors have care duty to take the best actions required to prevent the risk according to the patients' specific disease status. Such care duty of the doctor may be evaluated based on the medical behavior level at the medical institution and clinical medical study field. Such medical level should be understood in the normative level, considering the treatment environment, condition and specialty of the behavior, because it means the medical common sense known and acknowledged to the normal doctors. While the criminal suit requires the evidence for no doubt conviction, the civil suit requires more eased different standard. The results between the criminal and civil sentence may be different, because the confirmed former case may lead to long-term imprisonment and even death penalty, while the latter case puts only monetary penalty on the defeated party.

• The Korean Society of Law and Medicine
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• v.12 no.2
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• pp.219-263
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• 2011

"Wrongful conception" is a medical malpractice claim in which the plaintiff is the parent of a normal, healthy infant whose conception was unplanned and unwanted. Medical malpractice in wrongful conception can be the result of a failure to provide informed consent to a patient, failure to properly perform a surgery, or a physician's negligent handling of a patient's problems. In the concrete, wrongful conception cases fall into two categories; those involving pre-conception negligence, such as a failed contraceptive, sterilization or failing of the controlling of embryo-number on the IVF, and those involving post-conception negligence, such as a failure to diagnose a pregnancy or to perform an abortion procedure. In addition, Medical malpractice can be the result of a failure to provide informed consent to a patient. When bad results occur by medical malpractice or failure to provide informed consent to a patient, the range of recovery of damages is decided by a traditional civil liability law. However the calculation of damages for wrongful conception is not easy because the high value of life is included in that case. So many courts opinions in foreign country and Seoul High Court decision in 1996 allow damages for the pregnancy, birthing process and sterilization costs, but refuses to allow damages for child rearing expenses. As to the range of recovery of damages for wrongful conception, one approach says that to allow damages in a suit such as this would mean that the physician would have to pay for the fun, joy and affection which plaintiff will have in the rearing and educating of the plaintiff's baby. To allow such damages would be against the dignity of the baby based on article 10 of the Constitution. However another approach says that damages are recoverable for all expenses related to child birth as well as for child rearing costs. Because the damages that the parents should bear a burden to the tort damage done is not a baby itself but child rearing costs. In other words, although the baby is healthy or not, economic burden of the parents can not be disregard. And denial of compensation for costs of child rearing may invalidate the role of liability law, grant the physician with a exemption certificate of liability. As a result, the medical field of procreation can be easily isolated from a liability of reparation. Therefore, on the liability law like the other medical malpractice action, parents who became pregnant or gave a birth by physician, wrongfully performed sterilization operation, etc. should be compensated for all damages relevant to unplanned and unwanted conception or birth as well as costs of child rearing.

• The Korean Society of Law and Medicine
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• v.22 no.2
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• pp.49-79
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• 2021

Due to defendant's wrongful act by implant surgery, plaintiff has been suffered serious damages to his face and teeth, and pain caused by establishing implanted teeth. Jeonju Appellate Court sentenced to pay future medical expenses and alimony to the plaintiff in compensation for breach of duty or torts. The ruling is designed to relieve the burden of proof because it is extremely difficult for non-experts to determine whether dentists violated their 'duty of care' or whether there was a causal relationship between damages to medial treatment. It was judged that if symptoms that contributed to the patient's significant outcome occurred during or after surgery, such symptoms could be presumed to have been caused by medical negligence if indirect facts were proven to be other than medical negligence. Originally, the shifting of burden of proof in Germany, has already been developed in medical malpractice case since 1940s. In order to guarantee the patients' right, §630h German Civil Code (BGB) - presumption of negligence in the realization of controllable risk- has been also legislated. BGH (Bundesgerichtshof) has been interested in ensuring that the principle of equality between patients and doctors. So, in this study, we wanted to refer to German precedent cases to analyzing Korean medical malpractice lawsuit. In particular, the decision could be significant in that it approaches closer to allows the shifting burden of proof in drastically growing dental malpractice cases. This is clearly confirmed in the judgment of the dentist's "fault" that "if indirect facts about the symptom or occurrence are proven to be cause other than medical negligence, such symptoms can be presumed to be due to medical negligence."

• The Korean Society of Law and Medicine
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• v.13 no.1
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• pp.71-89
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• 2012

Just in case a patient's state couldn't get better or get even worse after medical practices, it is difficult for the patient's side to accept the result and it tends to think that its damage is caused by his doctor's malpractice. Medical practices of a doctor require highly advanced attention duty as a medical expert, because they are targeted at a human body of the best benefit and protection of the law. However, it is hard to prove the malpractice on the patient's side in medical dispute. Therefore, to solve a medical dispute quickly and fairly before the medical suit Korea Consumer Agency (KCA) has done a medical dispute adjustment business since 1999. For the past 5 years (2006~2010), the medical team of KCA had managed 4,171 cases as an injury relief, but it had dealt with them focusing on an injury relief business only after the occurrence of a medical accident. Afterwards, it is necessary to expand the range of its services in purpose of preventing the injury of consumers. If we can solve the problems -the clear statements about the cease of extinctive prescription in the fundamentals of comsumer act, the presence of parties directly concerned at comsumer dispute adjustment committee, and the effect of an agreement, etc. -, which have been founded in medical injury relief service of KCA and the management and procedures of the comsumer dispute adjustment committee of KCA and if we can also give KCA more workers and the proper budget of the government, we can expect KCA to become a more useful agency.

• The Korean Society of Law and Medicine
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• v.20 no.1
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• pp.133-162
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• 2019

Due to the nature of medical malpractice lawsuits, it is difficult for medical consumers, who are weak in getting information when it comes to health care problem, to secure all information inside the hospital. Even if you are confident about the hospital infection, it is true that people have difficult to obtain medical testimony by expert. It is seen as no easy task to testify to the malpractice of colleagues who work in the same field not only in our country but also abroad, when a doctor gives negative testimony to another doctor in a medical malpractice lawsuit. Although few health care providers will be motivated to take medical care from the outset, testimony or statements from a medical practitioner can have a significant impact on the outcome of a lawsuit, as it is impossible for the patient to control or be aware of the whole process of medical conduct, especially in the event of a hospital infection and the victim. If the hospital can prove the causality of damages caused by negligence of the employees or supervision of the hospital itself in a medical suit caused by the infection, the level of protection of the victim could be raised further. We sought to find a solution to these problems by looking at the provisions of other laws related to hospital infection. In particular, as the comparative legal review regarding hospital infection, Germany's legislative precedent sets a medical contract as a typical civil law contract, so it is thought that looking at German civil law regulations also has implications for Korean law. We also tried to improve the French Special Act 'rights of patients' and we can look at the consequent changes in court cases. Finally, the content of the U.S. case's and the theory of 'the doctrine of res ipsa loquitur' in relation to it show that doctors and hospitals have been forced to shift the burden of proof through this theory. This paper tried to find out the implications of mitigating the burden of proof by reviewing various issues that might be related to medical litigation of hospital infection from a comparative point of view.

• The Korean Society of Law and Medicine
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• v.20 no.3
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• pp.47-79
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• 2019

The Korean Society of Law and Medicine has faithfully played the role of professional academic organizations last 20 years in terms of academic activities, accumulated achievements, diversity, professionalism, and influence on academic circles. The Korean Society of Law and Medicine and the Journal of Medical Law serve as a platform for academic information and exchange of opinions on medical law. Medical law began in the midst of increasing conflicts and disputes caused by medical malpractice and the enactment and legal coercion of medical care as pressure on medical workers. It tried to find a way to coexist with each other through the encounter and convergence of medicine and law. Medical criminal law extends from traditional crimes in the realm of life and body protection to bioethics violations caused by the development of biomedical technology, corruption and economic crime in the medical field. Medical law has evolved into a comprehensive legal area dealing with legal issues raised in medical treatment, healthcare, bioethics, and life sciences technology. On the legal side, medical law is not independent legal areas. It is overlapping with traditional law areas such as civil law, administrative law, criminal law, social law, civil and criminal procedure law. However, it is now established as a convergence study in medicine, bioethics, life science, as well as in various fields of law. It has become an area where collaboration is needed with the field of law, medicine, ethics, sociology and economics. Medical criminal law has undergone a dynamic development over the last two decades. The development of medicine and medical technology provides new and innovative methods of diagnosis and treatment. The achievements and risks of revolutionary developments in biotechnology, genetic engineering and medicine coexist. While there is a dazzling achievement that mankind has hoped for: combating disease and improving health, it also creates unwanted side effects and risks to humans. There is a need to reconsider ethical and legal principles. The discovery and development of patient identity and autonomy has changed the medical doctor-patient relationship. Furthermore, it was complicated by the triangle relationship of patients, medical doctors and insurance. Legal matters are also complicated. This is why the necessity of legislation is emerging. Criminal punishment provisions are also required. The Medical Law and Biomedical Law are systematically and coherently deformed as mosaic-based legislation that takes place whenever there are social issues, citizens' needs, and medical organizations' interests, rather than sufficient enactment and revision procedures. It needs a complete overhaul, and this is possible through interdisciplinary collaboration which is the strength of The Korean Society of Law and Medicine.