Organization of medico-legal assessment of cases of pediatric medical malpractice

Objective. Analysis of expert reports on the cases of improper medical care for children under 18 years of age. Identification of specific features of such activities and organization of expert commissions with the purpose of practical application of the information obtained. Materials and methods. Expert reports provided by the Tatarstan Republican Bureau of Forensic Medical Examination were used. The data under analysis included 131 postmortem examinations and 95 examinations of living persons during the 2013–2021 period, as well as the following information: the profiles of specialists who participated in the work of expert commissions, the number of specialists involved (one or several), their qualifications and scientific degree. Data processing was carried out using the Microsoft Excel 2007, Microsoft Excel 365, and JASP 0.19.2.0 software packages. The normality of distribution was assessed by the Shapiro–Wilk criterion; the differences were considered statistically significant at p < 0.05. Results. The conducted statistical analysis revealed specific features in the composition of expert commissions. Both in postmortem examinations and examinations of living persons, the expert commission included, on average, four specialists of the highest category and those holding the degree of Candidate of Medical Sciences. When conducting postmortem examinations, specialists in infectious diseases, neonatology, anesthesiology, and resuscitation were involved most commonly. When conducting examinations of living persons, neurologists and traumatologists were in demand most frequently. Conclusion. Specific features of the organization of expert commissions in the conduct of forensic and medico-legal examinations in cases of pediatric medical malpractice have been identified. The range of specialists most frequently involved in such examinations has been determined. Recommendations on the selection and involvement of clinical specialists have been proposed.

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