Malpractice litigation after total hip arthroplasty: A legal 10-year database
Mehmet Mesut Sönmez1
, Mehmet Yılmaz Alpsoy2, Emre Özdemir2, Abdulvahap Sevin2, Mehmet Akif Kaygusuz3
1Department of Orthopedics and Traumatology, University of Health Sciences, Prof. Dr. Cemil Taşçıoğlu Training and Research Hospital, Istanbul, Türkiye
2The Council of Forensic Medicine, Istanbul, Türkiye
3Department of Orthopedics and Traumatology, Baltalimani Bone and Joint Diseases Training and Research Hospital, Istanbul, Türkiye
Keywords: Arthroplasty, complications, hip, litigation, malpractice lawsuits.
Abstract
Objectives: In this study, we aimed to identify the most frequently reported claims after total hip arthroplasty (THA) and the reasons put forward by the plaintiffs.
Patients and methods: Between January 2011 and December 2020, data of a total of 74 cases (21 males, 53 females; mean age: 53.7±12.8 years; range, 29 to 83 years) obtained from the Turkish Forensic Medicine Institute were retrospectively analyzed. Claims for litigation, demographic data, data regarding the identity of the accused and the hospital setting were recorded.
Results: The most common reason for lawsuits was death (n=15; 20.3%), followed by nerve injury (n=13; 17.6%), and eight patients had more than one complaint. According to the forensic medicine reports, malpractice was detected in 10 (12.5%) of the cases. Among the hospital types, only nerve injury made a significant difference among all complaint sources in different hospital settings (p=0.003).
Conclusion: In our study, death was the most common reason for lawsuits regarding malpractice accusations after THA, which is different from medical malpractice allegations throughout the world.
Citation: Sönmez MM, Alpsoy MY, Özdemir E, Sevin A, Kaygusuz MA. Malpractice litigation after total hip arthroplasty: A legal 10-year database. Jt Dis Relat Surg 2023;34(2):389-395. doi: 10.52312/ jdrs.2023.1029
The study protocol was approved by the Council of Forensic Medicine (ATK), Istanbul, Türkiye Ethics Committee (date: 01.12.2020, no: 21589509/2020/1147). The study was conducted in accordance with the principles of the Declaration of Helsinki.
Conceived of the presented idea. Performed the analysis wrote the manuscript: M.M.S.; Collected the data: M.Y.A., E.Ö., A.S.; Reviewed the results and approved the final version of the manuscript: M.A.K.
The authors declared no conflicts of interest with respect to the authorship and/or publication of this article.
The authors received no financial support for the research and/or authorship of this article.
The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.