Damages in Surgical Liability: Which Attributes and Which Assessment Methodology

If the assessment of the prejudice of victims from medical accidents (the latter being faulty or not) is done according to the same methodology that is applied with victims of traffic accidents, the notion of damage is assessed through multiple types of determinisms. Malpractice must be distinguished from non-faulty medical accidents, which also differs from the notion of nosocomial infection. The topic of faulty medical devices must also be treated apart, regarding its legal complexity and the numerous practical questions this peculiar type of medical liability raises when it comes to its evaluation. If the notion of surgical malpractice seems to be easily understood as the consequence of a clumsy mistake or a careless act, and the notion of medical accident can be defined as an exceptional damage caused by a care or prevention act. Those notions can sometimes be intertwined, and it can be difficult to sort things out with a simple therapeutic failure, or even a preexisting condition.