Litigation in Anesthesia and Intensive Care Units: An Italian Retrospective Study
Anesthesiologists consider professional insurance and its medico-legal problems as a remarkable aspect of their job. “Associazione Anestesisti Rianimatori Ospedalieri Italiani—Emergenza ed Area Critica” (AAROI-EMAC) is the Italian professional association of anesthesiologists and intensivists that w...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2021-08-01
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| Series: | Healthcare |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9032/9/8/1012 |
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| author | Emiliano Petrucci Alessandro Vittori Marco Cascella Alessandro Vergallo Gilberto Fiore Antonio Luciani Barbara Pizzi Giulia Degan Vittorio Fineschi Franco Marinangeli |
| author_facet | Emiliano Petrucci Alessandro Vittori Marco Cascella Alessandro Vergallo Gilberto Fiore Antonio Luciani Barbara Pizzi Giulia Degan Vittorio Fineschi Franco Marinangeli |
| author_sort | Emiliano Petrucci |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Anesthesiologists consider professional insurance and its medico-legal problems as a remarkable aspect of their job. “Associazione Anestesisti Rianimatori Ospedalieri Italiani—Emergenza ed Area Critica” (AAROI-EMAC) is the Italian professional association of anesthesiologists and intensivists that works to train its subscribers on safety measures. This is a retrospective observational study on an insurance complaints database for anesthetic accidents that result in injuries to patients. The analyzed period runs from 1 January 2014 to 31 December 2016. A total of 1309 complaints related to 873 insurance claims were analyzed. Criminal complaints comprised 805 (64.4%) of the total, and civil complaints were 445 (35.6%). The iatrogenic damage claimed included: death (58% of the cases); peripheral nerve damage (8%); spinal cord injuries (5%); unspecified injuries (7%); dental damage (4%); infections (3%); needing second surgical procedure (2%); and other injuries (13%). There is a statistical significance between the size of the hospital and the number of the claims: small hospital complaints comprised 40.1% of the cases, while complaints against medium-sized and large hospitals constituted 20.6% of the cases (χ<sup>2</sup>GL = 8 = 39.87, <i>p</i> = 0.00). In Italy, anesthesiologists and intensivists are often involved in litigation even when they are not directly responsible for iatrogenic injuries, and the most frequent claims in ICU are related post-operative complications. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T08:47:19Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-f3a57de1160e4f8c95e86fe02ea8bf10 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2227-9032 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T08:47:19Z |
| publishDate | 2021-08-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Healthcare |
| spelling | doaj.art-f3a57de1160e4f8c95e86fe02ea8bf102023-11-22T07:49:35ZengMDPI AGHealthcare2227-90322021-08-0198101210.3390/healthcare9081012Litigation in Anesthesia and Intensive Care Units: An Italian Retrospective StudyEmiliano Petrucci0Alessandro Vittori1Marco Cascella2Alessandro Vergallo3Gilberto Fiore4Antonio Luciani5Barbara Pizzi6Giulia Degan7Vittorio Fineschi8Franco Marinangeli9Department of Anesthesia and Intensive Care Unit, San Salvatore Academic Hospital of L’Aquila, 67100 L’Aquila, ItalyDepartment of Anesthesia and Critical Care, ARCO ROMA, Ospedale Pediatrico Bambino Gesù IRCCS, Piazza S. Onofrio 4, 00165 Rome, ItalyDepartment of Anesthesia and Critical Care, Istituto Nazionale Tumori—IRCCS, Fondazione Pascale, 80131 Naples, ItalyDepartment of Anesthesia and Intensive Care, Spedali Civili di Brescia, 25123 Brescia, ItalyDepartment of Anesthesia and Intensive Care, Hospital of Santa Croce di Moncalieri,10024 Turin, ItalyDepartment of Anesthesia and Intensive Care Unit, SS Annunziata Hospital of Sulmona (L’Aquila), 67039 L’Aquila, ItalyDepartment of Anesthesia and Intensive Care Unit, SS Filippo and Nicola Academic Hospital of Avezzano (L’Aquila), 67051 L’Aquila, ItalyDepartment of Anesthesia and Intensive Care Unit, SS Annunziata Hospital of Sulmona (L’Aquila), 67039 L’Aquila, ItalyDepartment of Anatomical, Histological, Forensic Medicine and Orthopedic Sciences, Sapienza University of Rome, 00185 Rome, ItalyDepartment of Anesthesiology, Intensive Care and Pain Treatment, University of L’Aquila, 67100 L’Aquila, ItalyAnesthesiologists consider professional insurance and its medico-legal problems as a remarkable aspect of their job. “Associazione Anestesisti Rianimatori Ospedalieri Italiani—Emergenza ed Area Critica” (AAROI-EMAC) is the Italian professional association of anesthesiologists and intensivists that works to train its subscribers on safety measures. This is a retrospective observational study on an insurance complaints database for anesthetic accidents that result in injuries to patients. The analyzed period runs from 1 January 2014 to 31 December 2016. A total of 1309 complaints related to 873 insurance claims were analyzed. Criminal complaints comprised 805 (64.4%) of the total, and civil complaints were 445 (35.6%). The iatrogenic damage claimed included: death (58% of the cases); peripheral nerve damage (8%); spinal cord injuries (5%); unspecified injuries (7%); dental damage (4%); infections (3%); needing second surgical procedure (2%); and other injuries (13%). There is a statistical significance between the size of the hospital and the number of the claims: small hospital complaints comprised 40.1% of the cases, while complaints against medium-sized and large hospitals constituted 20.6% of the cases (χ<sup>2</sup>GL = 8 = 39.87, <i>p</i> = 0.00). In Italy, anesthesiologists and intensivists are often involved in litigation even when they are not directly responsible for iatrogenic injuries, and the most frequent claims in ICU are related post-operative complications.https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9032/9/8/1012anesthesialitigationclaimintensive caremalpracticehospital |
| spellingShingle | Emiliano Petrucci Alessandro Vittori Marco Cascella Alessandro Vergallo Gilberto Fiore Antonio Luciani Barbara Pizzi Giulia Degan Vittorio Fineschi Franco Marinangeli Litigation in Anesthesia and Intensive Care Units: An Italian Retrospective Study Healthcare anesthesia litigation claim intensive care malpractice hospital |
| title | Litigation in Anesthesia and Intensive Care Units: An Italian Retrospective Study |
| title_full | Litigation in Anesthesia and Intensive Care Units: An Italian Retrospective Study |
| title_fullStr | Litigation in Anesthesia and Intensive Care Units: An Italian Retrospective Study |
| title_full_unstemmed | Litigation in Anesthesia and Intensive Care Units: An Italian Retrospective Study |
| title_short | Litigation in Anesthesia and Intensive Care Units: An Italian Retrospective Study |
| title_sort | litigation in anesthesia and intensive care units an italian retrospective study |
| topic | anesthesia litigation claim intensive care malpractice hospital |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9032/9/8/1012 |
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