Evaluation of the Malpractice of General Surgeons in Complaints Referred to the Forensic Medicine Department of Tehran Center from 2016 to 2022

Nasser Malekpour  Alamdari; Moahammad  Mozafar; Maryam  Abbasi; Pooyan  Kamkar

doi:10.18502/jimc.v9i3.21836

Nasser Malekpour Alamdari Critical Care Quality Improvement Research Center, Shahid Modarres Hospital, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
Moahammad Mozafar Department of General Surgery, Shohadaye Tajrish Hospital, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
Maryam Abbasi Department of General Surgery, Shahid Modarres Hospital, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
Pooyan Kamkar Department of General Surgery, Shahid Modarres Hospital, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran

DOI: https://doi.org/10.18502/jimc.v9i3.21836

Keywords: Forensic medicine, General surgery, Physical impairment, Malpractice

Abstract

Background: Medical malpractice represents a growing concern in healthcare systems globally, with significant ethical, legal, and professional implications. General surgeons are among the most frequently implicated specialists in malpractice complaints reviewed by Iran’s Forensic Medicine Organization (FMO). Despite this, comprehensive analyses of complaints specifically involving general surgeons in Tehran remain limited. This study aimed to evaluate the characteristics, underlying causes, and outcomes of malpractice complaints against general surgeons referred to the Forensic Medicine Commission of Tehran from 2016 to 2022.

Methods: In this descriptive cross-sectional study, all the malpractice cases related to general surgery submitted to the legal medical commissions of Tehran from 2016 to 2022 were reviewed. Data were extracted from the validated case files, including plaintiff demographics, characteristics of the complaints, and details of the malpractice findings. Cases with incomplete data were excluded from the analysis.

Results: Of 965 total malpractice complaint cases, 196 (20.31%) involved general surgeons. Among these, 77 cases (39.28%) resulted in a confirmed malpractice verdict. The majority of cases originated from private medical centers (54.59%), which also had the highest malpractice rate (52.34%), followed by charity hospitals (36.36%) and university hospitals (20.93%). Mortality was reported in 9.10% of the confirmed malpractice cases, while the remaining cases involved organ failure or long-term functional impairment.

Conclusion: Nearly 40% of the reviewed claims resulted in confirmed malpractice, with private centers presenting the highest conviction rate. The predominance of emergency surgeries, technical incompetence, and carelessness as leading causes of malpractice underscores the need for improvements in surgical education, clinical oversight, and procedural standards.