| Popis: |
This chapter focuses on medical malpractice as one of the paradigm examples of liability for personal injury. In this field, all the systems studied in the book provide a roughly identical answer to the question of when and to whom the obligation is owed in the context of medical malpractice. But, as this chapter illustrates, beneath relatively similar outcomes lay deep theoretical disagreements about the foundation of liability as well as pragmatic adjustments in the rules of causation and the burden of proof. In this light, the chapter analyzes, in each jurisdiction, the role played by the state in providing medical services as well as compensation for medical injuries, whether medical liability is framed in contract or tort, and the rules governing how legal persons in the medical sector can be held vicariously liable for the injuries brought about by their employees or agents. The chapter further delves into the solutions provided to specific problems of malpractice in treatment and informed consent, analyzing to whom medical providers can be liable (with special regard to wrongful birth and wrongful life cases) and the standard of care required to fulfill their obligations. |
