Medical Negligence Legislation in Turkey

When a patient is injured due to negligent care by a medical doctor, health care professional, or hospital, the term “medical malpractice” is commonly used. In cases of medical malpractice, injuries can range from minor to life-altering to fatal if they are severe enough.

If you believe you have been the victim of medical malpractice, you may be able to file a medical malpractice lawsuit to recover compensation for your pain and suffering, medical expenses, life care costs, and lost wages.

Medical Negligence Legislation in Turkey 

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Resulting harm to the patient

Medical malpractice is defined as any act or omission by a physician during treatment of a patient that deviates from generally accepted standards of care and results in patient injury. Medical malpractice is a subset of tort law that specifically addresses professional negligence.

Negligence

In general, “negligence” is defined as behavior that falls short of a standard; the standard most commonly used in tort law is that of a “reasonable person.” The reasonable person standard is a legal contrivance created so that the law can have a reference standard of reasonable behavior that a person in similar circumstances would do, or not do, in order to protect another person from a foreseeably harmful risk.

Plaintiff v. Defendant

The patient who initiates a litigation in court is referred to as the plaintiff or complainant. The plaintiff seeks a legal remedy from the court by submitting a lawsuit. In the event that the plaintiff prevails, the court will enter a judgment in his favor and issue a court order for damages. In a medical malpractice lawsuit, the defendant is the physician, medical laboratory, hospital, or professional organization to which the physician belongs. Cases are identified in litigation by citing the plaintiff first; thus, a lawsuit is cited as “Plaintiff v. Defendant.”

demonstrating four factors

In Turkey, a patient alleging medical malpractice must generally substantiate four elements or legal requirements in order for his or her claim to be successful. These factors include:

the existence of a legal duty on the part of the doctor to provide care or treatment to the patient; a breach of this duty by a failure to adhere to the standards of the profession; a causal relationship between such breach of duty and injury to the patient; and the existence of damages that flow from the injury such that the legal system can provide restitution.

Legal obligation

The first element is the existence of a legal obligation owed to the patient; this duty is triggered whenever a professional relationship between the patient and health care provider is established. In a civilized society, everyone owes a duty of reasonable care to others, according to the general concept of legal duty. Extending this concept to the professional context in which a doctor treats a patient, the doctor is said to owe the patient a duty of reasonable professional care. Practically speaking, this is the simplest element for the patient to prove, as this obligation is essentially assumed whenever a physician provides treatment to a patient. There is no duty when there is no relationship between the clinician and patient.

Quality of treatment

The patient must invoke the concept of standard of care to demonstrate a transgression of professional responsibility. While the precise definition of “standard of care” can vary between jurisdictions and the concept can be difficult to apply, the standard of care generally refers to the care that a reasonable professional in the same situation would have provided to the patient. Since a jury of laypeople cannot comprehend the nuances of medical care, expert witness testimony is essential for establishing a breach of a standard of professional care. Some violations of the standard of care are so egregious that expert testimony is unnecessary; for example, performing an operation on the incorrect limb is a clear breach of duty that speaks for itself.

Injury

A violation of the standard of care, apart from being a prospective quality-of-care concern for the medical practitioner or institution, is legally meaningless unless it results in patient injury. This “so what?” inquiry provides context for the third element of medical malfeasance, which is causation. To establish this element, the injured plaintiff must demonstrate a causal connection between the alleged misconduct and the resulting injury. Alternately, the patient may establish a causal link between the transgression of duty and the injury; this concept is known as proximate causation.

Damages

Damages are the fourth and concluding element of medical malpractice lawsuits. Typically, a claim for medical malpractice concludes with a calculation of damages. Since monetary damages are simple to calculate and administer, courts hearing cases of medical malpractice will determine monetary compensation for the injured patient. Punitive damages are extremely uncommon in medical malpractice cases, and courts reserve them for particularly egregious conduct that society has a strong interest in discouraging; examples include altering or destroying medical records on purpose or sexual misconduct against a patient. A plaintiff cannot maintain a medical negligence claim unless he or she can demonstrate damages.

The Burden of Evidence

At trial, the plaintiff’s counsel is responsible for proving every element of the case through the presentation of evidence gathered during pretrial discovery. The attorney must convince the court that the physician’s negligence was more likely than not. Any contrary assertions made by the physician’s attorney are referred to as defenses. The purpose of defenses is to disprove the evidence presented by the aggrieved plaintiff.

The aggrieved patient must demonstrate that a duty of professional care existed, that this duty was breached when the physician deviated from the standard of care, that as a result of this breach there was injury, and that this injury is quantifiable in damages that the court can use to determine the amount of compensation owed to the plaintiff. These elements of a medical malpractice claim must be proven by the patient suing the practitioner, in accordance with the applicable legal standard of proof.

Steps

If you suspect medical malpractice, your first priority should be safeguarding your health and receiving the attention you require.

After contacting a different physician, you should retrieve your medical records from the facility where you suspect malpractice occurred. If you suspect malfeasance, you should closely monitor your health by keeping daily records or a journal of any symptoms you experience.

Finally, contact a law firm specializing in medical malpractice. A qualified and experienced personal injury attorney can help you determine your next steps.