Doctors have to train with specialist magazines

Verdict: Doctors need to read journals

06/07/2012

Doctors who do not educate enough can be held liable for treatment errors. This ruled in a negotiated case, the Higher Regional Court Koblenz. According to the verdict, medical professionals have to undergo further education through specialist magazines and seminars in order to incorporate new scientific findings into their treatments. (Az: 5 U 1450/11)

Doctors also have to train continuously after completing medical studies, which is regulated by law. However, it is also important to regularly inform yourself about scientific innovations in specialist magazines, so that new, secure insights from medical science can be incorporated into the everyday work. If it comes to a treatment error, because just those findings were ignored, patients have a right to compensation.

Lack of nausea after anesthetic
In the present case, one patient suffered from anesthetic hypersensitivity. In order to relieve the symptoms such as nausea and vomiting, a drug with new active ingredient would have helped. The 46-year-old woman who underwent an anesthetic administration underwent gynecological surgery in March 2009 at a clinic in Mainz. Before the procedure, the plaintiff had pointed out to the attending physician that she was symptomatically reacting to the regular anesthetic with massive nausea. However, as a result of the intubation anesthesia after the procedure suffered from severe nausea with severe vomiting for three days. Due to the side effects of anesthesia administration and other alleged consequences of the operation, the patient sued the hospital and the attending physician for compensation. The lawsuit was initially dismissed by Mainz District Court, but a revision was granted. The woman was able to obtain at least a partial success from the Higher Regional Court Koblenz.

The judges ruled that they did not detect any clarification errors or treatment errors in the specific case. Therefore, the lawsuit against the operating physician is dismissed. But recognizable was a due diligence of anesthesia. The judges therefore condemned the clinic for damages as a liable authority. Due to the known symptoms of the patient after anesthesia her another drug would have to be administered. The remedy had demonstrably alleviated the complaints, the judges said. Even suppressive drugs were explicitly available for special cases of anesthesia, as confirmed by a report.

Gross treatment error due to ignorance
The report reported that the additional preparation could have alleviated the symptoms. In medical journals, studies were published in 2004, which proved that the funds according to scientifically proven knowledge in affected patients work. It was precisely this connection that the specialist in anesthesia should have known in 2005. Therefore, the administration of the third drug was absolutely necessary. The doctor could not claim to have known nothing about the innovations, since there was a sufficient time interval between the publication of the data and the anesthesia. Thus, the court assessed the ignorance of this as one „gross treatment error“. Otherwise, the hospital would have to prove that the unwanted side effects had also occurred with the remedy. However, since such evidence is missing, the Higher Regional Court sentenced the clinic to compensation for pain in the amount of 1000.00 €. The judgment is valid. Further points of the action were again rejected. (Sb)

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