Ann Dermatol.  2019 Jun;31(3):300-306. 10.5021/ad.2019.31.3.300.

Analysis of Judicial Precedents Cases Regarding Skin Cancer from 1997 to 2017 in Republic of Korea

• Shin SH
• Lee W
• Kim SY
• Jo G
• Mun JH
• Cho SI

• KMID: 2444862
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.5021/ad.2019.31.3.300

Abstract

BACKGROUND
Both medical disputes and the incidence of skin cancer are increasing in Korea.
OBJECTIVE
The aim of this study was to figure out the medical litigation related to skin cancer and propose a method to prevent the medical disputes.
METHODS
Skin cancer-related judgments were searched by The Supreme Court of Korea's Written Judgment Management System based on the keywords for skin cancer. The search system included sentenced cases at the Lower Courts, the Appellate Courts, and the Supreme Court from 1997 to 2017.
RESULTS
Seven cases were selected as the litigation cases related to skin cancer. Four cases (57.1%) presented malignant melanoma, while the rest presented squamous cell carcinoma, metastatic skin cancer, and peripheral T cell lymphoma (1 case in each). Four cases resulted in death from cancer metastasis, and 3 cases presented as sequelae. The legal issues related to the medical disputes could be categorized as follows: misdiagnosis, delayed diagnosis, performance error, and lack of informed consent. Delayed diagnosis and lack of informed consent were the most common issues (n=4) in the precedents. Five cases (71.4%) were sentenced the awarded amounts to the plaintiff, including 2 cases of settlement decision. The average awarded amount was 42,553,644±27,567,455 Korean won.
CONCLUSION
Physicians should pay attention to the cases of the skin cancer to prevent medical malpractice and disputes. The practices pertaining to proper diagnosis, treatment plans, and obtaining an informed consent should be followed during the course of treating skin cancer.

Keyword

Dermatology; Jurisprudence; Malpractice; Melanoma; Skin neoplasms

MeSH Terms

Awards and Prizes
Carcinoma, Squamous Cell
Delayed Diagnosis
Dermatology
Diagnosis
Diagnostic Errors
Dissent and Disputes
Incidence
Informed Consent
Judgment
Jurisprudence
Korea
Lymphoma, T-Cell, Peripheral
Malpractice
Melanoma
Methods
Neoplasm Metastasis
Republic of Korea*
Skin Neoplasms*
Skin*

Figure

• 

  Fig. 1 A total of 7 cases of the judicial precedents were analyzed in this study. The skin cancer related search terms included “skin cancer”, “malignant melanoma”, “basal cell carcinoma”, “squamous cell carcinoma”, “skin metastasis”, “(extramammary) Paget's disease”, “mycosis fungoides”, “cutaneous lymphoma”, “leukemia cutis”, “Bowen's disease”, “angiosarcoma”, “Kaposi's sarcoma”, and “dermatofibrosarcoma protuberans”.

• 

  Fig. 2 Diagnosis and complications of the skin cancer in all the 7 cases of the judicial precedents.

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