title: Pediatric malpractice: an overview of Turkey.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The objective of this study was to evaluate juridical and medical responsibilities of health-care professionals accused of malpractice in Turkey while they care for patients under the age of 18.
  
  
  METHODS
  The cases sent to the Council of Forensic Medicine Institution by the courts, including claims of medical malpractice (n = 1458), in order to get an expert opinion between 2002 and 2006, were examined retrospectively. Cases of negligence by health-care professionals who gave medical care to children between the ages of 0 and 18 were evaluated statistically.
  
  
  RESULTS
  There was medical malpractice in 28.8% of the cases; and 68.2% of the cases were male. A large proportion of the cases were found to occur in emergency departments; and 57.9% of injuries resulted in death. The specialist doctors seemed to be sued or to be accountable for compensation more frequently than the general practitioners. This can be attributed to the fact that they perform more complicated medical interventions.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Courts specializing in health legislation may be useful to decrease the time consumed by trials. These specialized courts will also support logical judgment. In addition, postgraduate education is useful in reducing malpractice claims.
authors.affiliation: Lawyer with Istanbul BAR, Istanbul, Turkey.
authors.forename: Nesrin
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Ozkaya
authors.forename: Halit
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Ozkaya
authors.forename: Erdem
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Ozkara
mesh_terms: D004636:Emergency Service, Hospital / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D005260:Female; D005554:Forensic Medicine; D006282:Health Personnel / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008297:Male; D008318:Malpractice / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D010372:Pediatrics / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D014421:Turkey
keywords: forensic medicine; medical malpractice; medical negligence; pediatrics