Criminal Liability for Multiple Medical Errors

Abstract

Medical errors that result in the harm or death of patients are still a major problem in health sectors all over the world. Identifying the cause of a medical error can be a difficult task because a large number of medical procedures involve the intervention of a number of medical experts. Consequently, it can also be difficult to identify the individual responsible for a medical error. In addition to this, further complications arise when there are a number of medical errors made by numerous individuals that result in the harm or death of a patient. Taking this into account, laws, regulations, and judicial procedures must be effective enough to overcome the complexity of these cases and ensure that those responsible for medical errors are correctly identified and appropriately judged. This paper presents two topics: The first is a discussion of general laws related to cases involving multiple medical errors, and the second is an examination of the applications of these laws in cases involving multiple medical errors from Saudi and Egyptian law. This study found that when multiple medical errors made by a number of individuals contribute to the harm or death of a patient, then it is a legal obligation to hold each of those individuals responsible for the resulting harm or death caused.