PHILIPPINE HEALTH CARE IN CRISIS PART III: WHY MEDICAL MALPRACTICE WILL NOT WORK IN THE PHILIPPINES
As mentioned in the blog below, the Philippine society is not mature enough to handle medical malpractice. Here is a brief glimpse at a medical malpractice case in the USA:
A patient sues say a plastic surgeon because of a poor tummy tuck result. The case will get filed in a municipal level trial court as a civil case, meaning the reward is money, plain and simple. (There will be no talk about fines, imprisonment and loss of license). The facts of the case will then get submitted to the judge who will decide whether or not there is merit.
When the judge deems the case meritorious, a preliminary hearing is scheduled (in his sala, not the prosecutor's office). At the hearing both sides present their evidences. The most important for the plaintiff is the sworn testimony, via legal deposition, of an expert witness, a physician, attesting to the poor quality of the job the plastic surgeon performed. On the other hand, the plastic surgeon's side present evidences, the most important of which is a sworn testimony of an expert witness, a physician, testifying to the fact that the accused plastic surgeon's job meets community standard of care.
The judge then advises both sides to find a settlement (always a certain amount of dollar). When the two cannot come up with a settlement agreement, the judge then schedules a jury trial. (The judge in the USA is considered not wise enough to decide on guilt or innocence. He/she passes the buck to 12 people in the community picked at random).
The judge's job from here on is to administer the case in court acting as a referee, controlling mainly the lawyers from both sides, and to be sure that the jury is instructed well on the rules of evidences and the gravity of jury tampering (members of the jury cannot communicate in any shape or form with any member of either side while the case is going on, and for a period of time afterwards).
Then after all the arguments are presented (usually one to two weeks), the jury goes into conference ("jury seclusion") and fight among themselves to come up with a common decision. When the decision is guilty, they decide how much the reward is, based on previous manifestations of the plaintiff.
If the jury verdict is "innocent", end of case. If the verdict is "guilty", the defendant plastic surgeon may file reconsideration, appeals, etc. just like here.
Again, I said earlier that this takes a mature society for this to work.
What will happen here?
[Next issue: A MEDICAL MALPRACTICE CASE IN THE PHILIPPINES]
A patient sues say a plastic surgeon because of a poor tummy tuck result. The case will get filed in a municipal level trial court as a civil case, meaning the reward is money, plain and simple. (There will be no talk about fines, imprisonment and loss of license). The facts of the case will then get submitted to the judge who will decide whether or not there is merit.
When the judge deems the case meritorious, a preliminary hearing is scheduled (in his sala, not the prosecutor's office). At the hearing both sides present their evidences. The most important for the plaintiff is the sworn testimony, via legal deposition, of an expert witness, a physician, attesting to the poor quality of the job the plastic surgeon performed. On the other hand, the plastic surgeon's side present evidences, the most important of which is a sworn testimony of an expert witness, a physician, testifying to the fact that the accused plastic surgeon's job meets community standard of care.
The judge then advises both sides to find a settlement (always a certain amount of dollar). When the two cannot come up with a settlement agreement, the judge then schedules a jury trial. (The judge in the USA is considered not wise enough to decide on guilt or innocence. He/she passes the buck to 12 people in the community picked at random).
The judge's job from here on is to administer the case in court acting as a referee, controlling mainly the lawyers from both sides, and to be sure that the jury is instructed well on the rules of evidences and the gravity of jury tampering (members of the jury cannot communicate in any shape or form with any member of either side while the case is going on, and for a period of time afterwards).
Then after all the arguments are presented (usually one to two weeks), the jury goes into conference ("jury seclusion") and fight among themselves to come up with a common decision. When the decision is guilty, they decide how much the reward is, based on previous manifestations of the plaintiff.
If the jury verdict is "innocent", end of case. If the verdict is "guilty", the defendant plastic surgeon may file reconsideration, appeals, etc. just like here.
Again, I said earlier that this takes a mature society for this to work.
What will happen here?
[Next issue: A MEDICAL MALPRACTICE CASE IN THE PHILIPPINES]
posted by mactanman at 2:44 AM
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