The effect of the New Zealand Accident Compensation legislation on medical malpractice.
The New Zealand Accident Compensation Act 1972 and its amending Act of 1982 have substantially altered the attitudes of the law, the medical profession and the public, to personal injury by accident. The element of fault is removed and the uncertainty of the outcome of a claim under adversarial court action no longer exists. Rehabilitation assistance on recovery from injury as well as accident prevention measures are cited in the Act as statutory responsibilities of the New Zealand Accident Compensation Corporation. Mechanisms of dealing with medical malpractice, with illustrative examples from ophthalmic practice, are described. Most such incidents are described as medical misadventure.
Powell
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D000059:Accidents; D007883:Legislation, Medical; D008318:Malpractice; D009520:New Zealand; D009885:Ophthalmology