title: [Responsibility for the loss of opportunity in malignant cancer care in the Spanish public healthcare system].
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The loss of chance in healthcare has been forcibly introduced in the adjudications pronounced in recent years. Our objective was to analyse the verdicts of guilt resulting from the loss of chance ordered by the Contentious-Administrative Court (i.e., in the public healthcare system), in which both the origin of the disease to be treated and the sequelae were oncological processes.
  
  
  METHODS
  We analysed 137 cancer-related court judgments from the Contentious-Administrative Court, which referred to the concept of loss of chance, issued in Spain up to May 2014.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Of the 137 sentences, 119 (86.9%), were pronounced due to diagnostic error and 14 (10.2%) due to inadequate treatment. Since 2010, 100 sentences have been passed (73.0%), representing an increase of more than 170% with respect to the 37 (27.0%) ordered in the first six years of the study (from 2004 to 2009). Most of the patients (68.6%) died, predominantly from breast cancer and gynaecological cancer (24.1%), and gastrointestinal cancers (21.1%). These malignancies were the ones most often involved in the sentences.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The litigant activity due to loss of chance in oncological processes in the public health care has significantly increased in the last years. The judgments were mainly given because of diagnostic error or inadequate treatment.
authors.affiliation: Sardinero Abogados, Leganés (Madrid), España; Departamento de Derecho Penal, Procesal e Historia del Derecho, Facultad de Ciencias Sociales y Jurídicas, Universidad Carlos III, Getafe (Madrid), España.
authors.forename: Carlos
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Sardinero-García
authors.affiliation: Servicio de Medicina Legal, Hospital Universitario Clínico San Carlos, Madrid, España; Escuela de Medicina Legal, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad Complutense, Madrid, España.
authors.forename: Andrés
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Santiago-Sáez
authors.affiliation: Servicio Informático de Apoyo al Usuario-Investigación, Oficina de Tecnologías de la Información de Ciencias de la Salud, Ciencias de la Información y Bellas Artes, Universidad Complutense, Madrid, España.
authors.forename: M Del Carmen
authors.initials: MDC
authors.lastname: Bravo
authors.affiliation: Escuela de Medicina Legal, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad Complutense, Madrid, España.
authors.forename: Bernardo
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Perea-Pérez
authors.affiliation: Escuela de Medicina Legal, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad Complutense, Madrid, España.
authors.forename: M Elena
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Albarrán-Juan
authors.affiliation: Escuela de Medicina Legal, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad Complutense, Madrid, España.
authors.forename: Elena
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Labajo-González
authors.affiliation: Servicio de Neurología, Hospital Universitario 12 de Octubre, Madrid, España; Departamento de Medicina, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad Complutense, Madrid, España; CIBER de Enfermedades Neurodegenerativas (CIBERNED), España. Electronic address: jbenitol67@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Julián
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Benito-León
mesh_terms: D017677:Age Distribution; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000401:mortality / Q000628:therapy; D003951:Diagnostic Errors / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005260:Female; D005770:Gastrointestinal Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000401:mortality / Q000628:therapy; D005833:Genital Neoplasms, Female / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000401:mortality / Q000628:therapy; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D019300:Medical Errors / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000401:mortality / Q000628:therapy*; D017678:Sex Distribution; D013030:Spain / Q000453:epidemiology
keywords: Compensación; Compensation; Jurisprudence; Jurisprudencia; Loss of chance; Oncology; Oncología; Pérdida de oportunidad