Medical law defines the rules of healthcare by specifying the rights of healthcare consumers while at the same time defining the obligations of healthcare providers. When clinicians fail to provide the standard of care, medical malpractice claims arise, leading to medical liability. While many malpractice claims allege deviation from the lex artis, a substantial proportion do not ultimately establish negligence and are dismissed or settled without a finding of fault. Due to the significant impact of medical negligence on the quality of medical care, as well as on the domestic and global economy, different countries adopt different systems for managing these disputes. Finally, the mandatory or non-mandatory medical malpractice insurance makes doctors carry out their medical work without the fear of medical liability. In fact, in most countries today, doctors are given the opportunity to choose between claims-made and occurrence-based policies of medical malpractice insurance. The study is a narrative review of scientific and legal works from different countries. For the comparison of medical liability systems and insurance policies a comprehensive review of databases and legal texts was conducted. This study compares medical liability and malpractice insurance systems across countries, examining variations in the handling of malpractice claims and their implications. The system is adversarial in many countries, especially in the United States, to allow for a substantial compensation, while other countries, such as the United Kingdom and Germany, focus on mediation and structured compensation processes. Notably, France, Japan and other countries follow a no-fault system, of reasoning that the system is more efficient in the sense that it reduces the patient's burden of proving negligence and thus expedites the compensation. These findings reveal how each country negotiates the balance between patient rights and healthcare provider protections, and, in turn, how these negotiations affect malpractice insurance costs and legal reforms. The analysis contrasts fault-based systems which offer large compensation awards with no-fault systems which focus on quick compensation but may lack accountability. Countries with high litigation rates like the US and Brazil have higher insurance costs, while countries like Canada and Australia have stabilized their systems through reforms. Medical liability insurance options, claims-made versus occurrence-based, raise different economic and legal concerns. Occurrence-based policies are more expensive for younger professionals, but they provide longer-term coverage than claims-made policies. Global medical liability frameworks vary considerably, reflecting cultural, economic and legal contexts. However, the comparison reveals that no system is perfect and that there is something to learn from each.

Background: Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a well-known phenomenon, which affects mostly women. While IPV victims may attend emergency departments (EDs) seeking medical care, not all of them will make an allegation against their abusers. Objective: The aim of this study was to examine the prevalence and the characteristics of the victims, who had made an allegation about the violent incident and had been examined by a forensic pathologist for judicial purposes, and had attended EDs seeking medical care, before the forensic examination. Methods: We reviewed the archives of clinical examinations that were conducted at the Department of Forensic Medicine and Toxicology of National and Kapodistrian University of Athens during a 5-year period (2012–16). Results: Six hundred sixty-four clinical examinations were conducted at our Department for IPV allegations. According to our findings, women were more likely to seek medical care than men. Victims who have attended EDs were more likely to have sustained injuries located at least on the head or on the lower limbs. Conclusion: The majority of IPV victims in the broader region of Attica (Greece) were women, usually married, and aged between 30 and 49 years old. Despite the fact that the majority of IPV incidents are not reported to police, every person who is engaged in the process of dealing with IPV victims has to be educated and adequately informed about this phenomenon, its implications and the possible ways to deal with it. Furthermore, victims need to be educated and informed adequately in waiting rooms of EDs.

The late discovery of a deceased is an observable phenomenon in urban centers and is highly associated with unaccompanied deaths. The aim of this study is to investigate the socio-demographic patterns and circumstances surrounding the late discovery of deceased individuals in indoor settings within urban areas, in Greece. The studied sample included 217 decomposing individuals discovered indoors in eastern Attica between the years 2012-2021. The majority of cases involved Greek males aged above 65, single, childless, and living alone. A history of illegal substance and alcohol abuse, psychiatric disorders and atypical behavior was recorded in some cases, however these represented the minority of the sample. The majority of bodies were discovered inside their permanent homes by relatives or neighbors at the stage of early decomposition within a month of their death. Manner of death was in most cases natural. Statistically significant associations between the examined variables were noted. Differences in the death circumstances between individuals with and without socially reprehensible behaviors were illuminated. Ultimately, the study seeks to identify risk factors leading to social disengagement and contribute to the development of protective measures against this phenomenon.