Analysis of emergency department related lawsuits and its response

¹Department of Emergency Medicine, National Medical Center, Seoul, Korea
²Department of Emergency Medicine, Yongin Severance Hospital, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Yongin, Korea
³Department of Emergency Medicine, Sacred Heart Hospital, Hallym University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea

Correspondence

Taejin Park ,Tel: 031-380-1500, Fax: 031-380-1573, Email: humcemergency@kdh.or.kr,

Received: October 18, 2023; Revised: November 1, 2023 Accepted: November 1, 2023. Published online: April 30, 2025.

ABSTRACT

Objective:
This study examined the up-to-date facts from real cases of emergency medical litigations to provide information to act appropriately in medical lawsuits against emergency medicine specialists.
Method:
Data were collected from lawsuits from 2008 to 2020. Thirty-nine cases were collected and analyzed retrospectively. Six emergency medicine specialists and one resident with a lawyer’s license participated in the analysis.
Results:
Medical litigations have surged since 2015. The lawsuits were due mainly to misdiagnoses and violations of the duty to explain. Medical staff won in 12 (38.7%) cases and lost in 19 (61.3%). The main reason for losing was a violation of the duty of care. In criminal claims, 50% of cases resulted in confinement. The win rate was 1.4 times higher in cases where consultation was requested from other specialties (42.9% and 29.4% win with consultation and without, respectively).
Conclusion:
The win rate in lawsuits is decreasing, and the level of penalty is becoming more severe. The decrease in the violation of duty to explain was attributed to education through the years. The win rate was higher when consulting with other specialists. Hence, active consultation is recommended. In addition, the system of radiology interpretation requires improvement because of the many misdiagnoses from reading diagnostic images.

Key words: Hospital emergency service; Legislation and jurisprudence; Emergency medical service communication systems