Evaluation of the medical malpractice cases concluded in supreme court of appeals between 2010-2017

Aim: There is a substantial increase in medical malpractice cases in our country as well as in the whole world. Health care professionals are sentenced to pay compensation in high amounts and penal sanctions. It is aimed to reveal the cases considered as defects and situations that can be considered as occupational risky for not harming patients, to guide in diagnosis, treatment and follow-up, to provide a clear explanation of the complaints of medical personnel and to contribute to the elimination of these problems in practice by examination of decisions of Supreme Court of Appeals, which is the ultimate decisionmaking authority in court proceedings. Material and Method: In our study, 508 decisions of Supreme Court of Appeals decisions we get access between 2010-2017 that are in accordance with the conditions we have set for our study have been examined. Results: It was determined that 81% of the health care workers complained of the claim of medical malpractice were physicians, the most frequent complaints about obstetrician and gynecologist, and emergency physicians according to specialties, most of the complainants were working in private hospitals / clinics, health care professionals were most often complained of treatment failure and indifference / carelessness, 43% of the cases referred to hospitals in emergency conditions, the most performed medical procedure in the cases was surgical intervention, 20.7% of health care professionals in civil suit and 27.4% of health care professionals in criminal suit were penalised by the local courts, 79% of the court decisions were reversed by the Supreme Court of Appeals, and the reason for the deterioration was mostly stated that the expert report was incomplete / insufficient, 30.8% of the expert reports stated that health care proffesionals were defective, these experts' reports have pointed out that the mistakes concentrate on 'lack of necessary consultation', 'incomplete and imprecise treatment', 'imperfect medical treatment' and 'lack of follow-up on therapy'. Conclusion: In order to minimize malpractice claims, health care professionals should develop their professional knowledge and experience and establish good communication with the patient. In addition, there is a need for a medical malpractice law detailing the concepts of defects and complications, where measures are taken for healthcare professionals instead of criminal measures.