title: [Liability for loss of chance in neurological conditions in the Spanish public healthcare system].
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To analyse the sentences due to loss of chance that were passed by the Contentious-Administrative Court (i.e., in public medicine), in which both the origin of the disease to be treated and the damages were neurological.
  
  
  METHODS
  We analysed the 90 sentences concerning neurological conditions that referred to the concept of loss of chance that were passed in Spain from 2003 (year of the first sentence) until May 2014.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Of the 90 sentences, 52 (57.8%) were passed due to diagnostic error and 30 (33.3%), due to inadequate treatment. 72 (80.0%) of the sentences were passed from 2009 onwards, which equates to more than a 300% increase with respect to the 18 (20.0%) issued in the first six years of the study (from 2003 to 2008). Most of the patients (66.7%) were men, and a 61.1% presented sequelae. Hypoxic-ischaemic encephalopathy (14.4%) and spinal cord disorders (14.4%) were the most common conditions to lead to sentencing.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The litigant activity due to loss of chance in neurological disease in the Spanish public healthcare system has significantly increased in the last few years. The sentences were mainly passed 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 Clínico Universitario 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: MD
authors.lastname: Bravo-Llatas
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: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D016365:Liability, Legal; D008297:Male; D019300:Medical Errors / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D008875:Middle Aged; D009422:Nervous System Diseases / Q000628:therapy*; D015980:Public Health Practice; D013030:Spain; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Compensación; Compensation; Loss of chance; Neurology; Neurología; Pérdida de oportunidad; Sentences; Sentencias