Nur Birgen
Acibadem Healthcare Group, Turkey
Title: Medical malpractice claims in Turkey: Experience of a private hospital group
Biography
Biography: Nur Birgen
Abstract
Medical malpractice claims is a worldwide problem during healthcare services. As in other countries, physicians have been
liable since the 19th century in Turkey but they have been rare since 2005. After the change in Turkish Penal Code, claim
frequency increased. During recent years, ombudsman system started in Turkey and it is designed to encourage discovery and
negotiations between adversarial parties with the goal of resolving the problem without going to trial. The injured patient must
show that the physician acted negligently in rendering care, and that such negligence resulted in injury. These negotiations are
usually hard because even though the patients cannot show the physician’s negligence, they ask for compensation. At the end
of these negotiations, both parties prefer to go to trial. Number of claims increase as the number of patient increases. As an
example, a private hospital groups’ numbers are given in this study. The number of claims through 2012-2016.