Iwona Wrześniewska-Wal
Malpractice-related deaths resulting from failure
of due diligence. Decisions of Polish medical
disciplinary boards
Department of Medical Law and Medical Certification, School of Public Health, Medical Centre of Postgraduate Education, Warsaw, Poland
Abstract
Aim: The presented cases are related to failure of due diligence found in the binding decisions of medical disciplinary
boards in three centres in Poland, showing in what percentage of the cases the patient died, and answering the question
of whether the number of deaths changed, and if yes, then why.
Material and methods: The material for this study was collected as a result of the analysis of disciplinary files from
410 final and binding cases before the regional boards in Warsaw, Poznan, and Lodz in 2015–2018, which covers 12.5%
of Poland’s total caseload.
Results: During the 4 years of decisions studied, one can observe only a minimal downward trend in the number of
cases relating to failure of due diligence by physicians in diagnosis and treatment. Patient deaths occurred mainly in
such medical fields as surgery, neurology, cardiology, and obstetrics, in 2015–2016 – a total of 28 in Warsaw, 23 in Lodz,
and 8 in Poznan.
Conclusions: A reduction in the number of such cases coming up before medical disciplinary boards is primarily the
consequence of the growing involvement of the law enforcement/public prosecutors’ offices for offences involving
medical error. Currently, the legal awareness of Polish patients or, in this case, their families is focused not so much on
the fact that a case has to be brought for potential medical error but on which path to take the case so as to win damages,
compensation, or an annuity from the physician or from the medical establishment.
Key words: medical error, responsibility, due diligence, ombudsman, medical disciplinary board, patient’s death.
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