• 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.

• Journal of Korean Library and Information Science Society
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• v.33 no.4
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• pp.179-207
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• 2002

This study outlined the malpractice of information professionals. including librarians and information brokers, providing inaccurate and insufficient information to the users, which was derived from the lack of reasonable care in the performance of professional duties and caused actual damage to the users. The author analysed the essential requirements for the charge of information malpractice and suggested the method of safeguard against it.

• Health Policy and Management
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• v.9 no.2
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• pp.95-117
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• 1999

The purposes of the study was to analysis the factors on the physicians' indemnity experience and indemnity on malpractice. Data was collected from mail interview for the physicians from August, to October in 1996. Questions were asked to the physician who selected with random sample(n=8.338) about the opinion of malpractice insurance. experience that he(she) have requested the indemnity from patience. context of experienced indemnity and demographic characteristics of physician and patience. Response rate is 37.5%(n=3,124). This study was analyzed in two levels' the first. influential factors on whether physician has experience of indemnity and the second. influential factors of indemnity among physicians who had experienced the indemnity. The major findings were as follows : 1. Logistic regression on whether physicians had experience of indemnity request was conducted. And it indicated that statistically meaningful variables of model 1 (about all physicians) were department of surgery, physicians who have intention of insurance fee, physician age and income, physicians who owned the hospitals and statistically meaningful variables of model 11 (about physicians who owned the hospital) were department of surgery and internal treatment. 2. Multiple regression on the influential factors on indemnity was conducted. And it showed that statistically meaningful variables in model 1 were method of malpractice quarrel(physician association), whether physician had malpractice, whether suit succeeded, physician age, average practice time and income and whether physician owned the hospital and statistically meaningful variables of model 11 were whether physician had malpractice, number of outpatient, number of beds. As the conclusion, the thesis was examined about the variables related with experience of indemnity and cost of malpractice. But in order to prevent malpractice and promote medical quality, the reasonable system to solve a malpractice have to settle and cost estimation on malpractice is essential. Therefore an advanced research is progressed with methodology to decide the indemnity bases.

• 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."

• Journal of Oral Medicine and Pain
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• v.31 no.4
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• pp.283-296
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• 2006

Along with the development of scientific technologies, health care has been growing remarkably, and as the social life quality improves with increasing interest in health, the demand for medical service is rapidly increasing. However, medical accident and medical dispute also are rapidly increasing due to various factors such as, increasing sense of people's right, lack of understanding in the nature of medical practice, over expectation on medical technique, commercialize medical supply system, moral degeneracy and unawareness of medical jurisprudence by doctors, widespread trend of mutual distrust, and lack of systematized device for solution of medical dispute. This study analysed 30 cases of civil suit in the year between 1994 to 2004, which were selected among the medical dispute cases in dental field with the judgement collected from organizations related to dentistry and department of oral medicine, Yonsei university dental hospital. The following results were drawn from the analyses: 1. The distribution of year showed rapid increase of medical dispute after the year 2000. 2. In the types of medical dispute, suit associated with tooth extraction took 36.7% of all. 3. As for the cause of medical dispute, uncomfortable feeling and dissatisfaction with the treatment showed 36.7%, death and permanent damage showed 16.7% each. 4. Winning the suit, compulsory mediation and recommendation for settlement took 60.0% of judgement result for the plaintiff. 5. For the type of medical organization in relation to medical dispute, 60.0% was found to be the private dental clinics, and 30.0% was university dental hospitals. 6. For the level of trial, dispute that progressed above 2 or 3 trials was of 30.0%. 7. For the amount of claim for damage, the claim amounting between 50 million to 100 million won was of 36.7%, and that of more than 100 million won was 13.3%, and in case of the judgement amount, the amount ranging from 10 million to 30 million won was of 40.0%, and that of more than 100 million won was of 6.7%. 8. For the number of dentist involved in the suit, 26.7% was of 2 or more dentists. 9. For the amount of time spent until the judgement, 46.7% took 11 to 20 months, and 36.7% took 21 to 30 months. 10. For medical malpractice, 46.7% was judged to be guilty, and 70% of the cases had undergone medical judgement or verification of the case by specialists during the process of the suit. 11. In the lost cases of doctors(18 cases), 72.2% was due to violence of carefulness in practice and 16.7% was due to missing of explanation to patient. Medical disputes occurring in the field of dentistry are usually of relatively less risky cases. Hence, the importance of explanation to patient is emphasized, and since the levels of patient satisfaction are subjective, improvement of the relationship between the patient and the dentist and recovery of autonomy within the group dentist are essential in addition to the reduction of technical malpractice. Moreover, management measure against the medical dispute should be set up through complement of the current doctors and hospitals medical malpractice insurance which is being conducted irrationally, and establishment of system in which education as well as consultation for medical disputes lead by the group of dental clinicians and academic scholars are accessible.

• 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.