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Vol. 33. Issue 1.
Pages 22-30 (January - February 2022)
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Vol. 33. Issue 1.
Pages 22-30 (January - February 2022)
Special article
Litigability and defensibility in neurology and neurosurgery. A “therapeutic” model for handling claims for malpractice care
Litigabilidad y defendibilidad en neurología y neurocirugía. Un modelo “terapéutico” para el manejo de reclamaciones por mala praxis asistencial
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José Aso Escario1
Servicio de Neurocirugía, Hospital MAZ, Zaragoza, Spain
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Table 1. Most reported departments and conditions (2017–2020).
Table 2. The most common causes of general claims and those in the specialty of neurosurgery.
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Abstract

Despite its indisputable importance, there are not many official data on claims for malpractice at the national level in Spain, mainly due to transfers from Health to the Autonomous Communities. This lack of unified information, together with other variables related to modern Healthcare Medicine (type of healthcare system, ethical aspects, consent, patients' rights, new technologies, etc.), complicates the healthcare professional's response to claims, and could not guarantee adequate protection of this against possible liability.

This article analyzes the current situation in Spain and emphasizes aspects such as defensibility and liability in malpractice claims, taking as a model the Neurosurgery Specialty, one of the most prone to this type of situation.

Prevention and action guidelines are offered, through a model aimed at reinforcing defensibility and reducing liability. This approach, which we call a “therapeutic model”, considers the problem analogously to a disease, providing the basis for its prevention and management.

We believe that this approach can be useful both to the Neurosurgeon and to any healthcare provider at a time, such as today, when there is some confusion on these issues and some reluctance of insurance companies to provide coverage in some cases.

Keywords:
Liability
Defensibility
Legal
Malpractice
Claims
Resumen

Pese a su indiscutible importancia, no abundan los datos oficiales sobre reclamaciones por mala praxis asistencial a nivel nacional en España, debido, principalmente, a las transferencias de Sanidad a las Comunidades Autónomas. Esta falta de información unificada, junto a otras variables relacionadas con la moderna Medicina Asistencial (tipo de sistema sanitario, aspectos éticos, consentimiento, derechos de los pacientes, nuevas tecnologías, etc.), complica la respuesta del profesional sanitario ante las reclamaciones, y podría no garantizar una adecuada protección de este ante posibles denuncias.

Este artículo analiza la situación actual en España y enfatiza aspectos como la defendibilidad y la litigabilidad en las reclamaciones por mala praxis, tomando como modelo la Especialidad de Neurocirugía, una de las más proclives a este tipo de situaciones.

Se ofrecen líneas guía de prevención y actuación, mediante un modelo encaminado a reforzar la defendibilidad y reducir la litigabilidad. Dicho enfoque, al que llamamos “modelo terapéutico”, considera el problema análogamente a una enfermedad, proporcionando bases para su prevención y manejo.

Creemos que este enfoque puede ser útil tanto al Neurocirujano como a cualquier sanitario en un momento, como el actual, en que existe cierta confusión sobre estos temas y también alguna reticencia de las Compañías aseguradoras a proporcionar cobertura en algunos casos.

Palabras clave:
Litigabilidad
Defendibilidad
Legal
Mala praxis
Reclamaciones

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