• The Korean Society of Law and Medicine
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• v.22 no.2
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• pp.3-48
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• 2021

Among the major rulings handed down in 2020, there were cases involving anaphylaxis, which is timely as a side effect of coronavirus and flu vaccine. And as a rare case, a ruling was handed down that if medical treatment was done so unfaithfully beyond the limit of patience of ordinary people, it can be an independent illegal act and a cause of compensation for emotional distress. Also, there was a ruling in the appellate court that evaluated disability rate applying the Korean Academy of Medical Sciences Guides for the Evaluation of Permanent Impairment, not McBride system. And the supreme court made it clear that telemedicine is illegitimate. In relation to duty of explanation, it is in the process of adding detail criterion on the firm principles in the individual cases. In regard of medical records, there was a case that even when a medical record is strongly suspected to be tampered with, it is not considered to be an obstruction of proof. There were cases that resulted in different conclusion between the court of first instance and the appellate court rulings. Lastly, in the face of a growing number of cases in which doctors are sentenced to prison for malpractice, we reviewed a ruling that sentenced a doctor to prison.

• Child Health Nursing Research
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• v.2 no.1
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• pp.13-26
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• 1996

This descriptive study was done to detect the possibilities of the development of the advocacy concept in nursing. The subjects consisted of 3 nurses who had agreed to participate to the study, working at nursery room in a general hospital. Data was collected from May 22 to June 13 in 1995 through tape recorded intensive-interview, and written down, then content analyzed qualitatively related to the infant advocacy. 1. Derivation fo the meaning about advocacy concept 1) The situations in need of infant advocacy were 12 categories : malpractice, overcharing, negligence, unnecessary services, and services without consent, and so on. 2) Fourteen categories of advocacy activities percived by nurses were derived from participants' statements. Protesting infant or his /her families against their counterpart, providing informations to families, cooperating with medical staffs for her patient, then calling medical staff not so as to be maleficient to her patient in its rank. 3) The expected result of advocacy activities perceived by nurses was respectively positive to her patient or families, but negative to nurse. 4) The feelings of nurses in the sitution of advocacy were expressed in to concern, comprehension, regret, powerlessness, charity, desire, and so on. 5) Nurses perceived that advocacy activities could be influenced positively by factors related to nurses' qualification and negatively by factors related to doctor's overdo and nurse's underdo. 2. Categorization of the meaning and their relationships In case of antecedental situation in need of infant advocacy, nurse perceives her patients need the advocacy to get a benefit through nurse's information, intervention speaking, building cooperations. The expected factors to influence advocacy activities perceived by nurses, are the power imbalance between medical staffs, the nurse's qualification, and the nurse's feeling from the situation. The above results suggest that the infant care situation will be recommendable field work place for concept development of advocacy with hybride model when it involves infant's families.

• Journal of the Korean Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons
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• v.43 no.5
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• pp.318-323
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• 2017

Objectives: Mandibular angle reduction or reduction genioplasty is a routine well-known facial contouring surgery that reduces the width of the lower face resulting in an oval shaped face. During the intraoral resection of the mandibular angle or chin using an oscillating saw, unexpected peripheral nerve damage including inferior alveolar nerve (IAN) damage could occur. This study analyzed cases of damaged IANs during facial contouring surgery, and asked what the basic standard of care in these medical litigation-involved cases should be. Materials and Methods: We retrospectively reviewed a total of 28 patients with IAN damage after mandibular contouring from August 2008 to July 2015. Most of the patients did not have an antipathy to medical staff because they wanted their faces to be ovoid shaped. We summarized three representative cases according to each patient's perceptions and different operation procedures under the approvement by the Institutional Review Board of Seoul National University. Results: Most of the patients did not want to receive any further operations not due to fear of an operation but because of the changes in their facial appearance. Thus, their fear may be due to a desire for a better perfect outcome, and to avoid unsolicited patient complaints related litigation. Conclusion: This article analyzed representative IAN cutting cases that occurred during mandibular contouring esthetic surgery and evaluated a questionnaire on the standard of care for the desired patient outcomes and the specialized surgeon's position with respect to legal liability.

• Archives of Plastic Surgery
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• v.43 no.5
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• pp.402-410
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• 2016

Background In an increasing number of lawsuits doctors lose, despite providing preoperative patient education, because of failure to prove informed consent. We analyzed judicial precedents associated with insufficient informed consent to identify judicial factors and trends related to aesthetic surgery medical litigation. Methods We collected data from civil trials between 1995 and 2015 that were related to aesthetic surgery and resulted in findings of insufficient informed consent. Based on these data, we analyzed the lawsuits, including the distribution of surgeries, dissatisfactions, litigation expenses, and relationship to informed consent. Results Cases were found involving the following types of surgery: facial rejuvenation (38 cases), facial contouring surgery (27 cases), mammoplasty (16 cases), blepharoplasty (29 cases), rhinoplasty (21 cases), body-contouring surgery (15 cases), and breast reconstruction (2 cases). Common reasons for postoperative dissatisfaction were deformities (22%), scars (17%), asymmetry (14%), and infections (6%). Most of the malpractice lawsuits occurred in Seoul (population 10 million people; 54% of total plastic surgeons) and in primary-level local clinics (113 cases, 82.5%). In cases in which only invalid informed consent was recognized, the average amount of consolation money was KRW 9,107,143 (USD 8438). In cases in which both violation of non-malfeasance and invalid informed consent were recognized, the average amount of consolation money was KRW 12,741,857 (USD 11,806), corresponding to 38.6% of the amount of the judgment. Conclusions Surgeons should pay special attention to obtaining informed consent, because it is a double-edged sword; it has clinical purposes for doctors and patients but may also be a litigation strategy for lawyers.

• Journal of dental hygiene science
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• v.8 no.4
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• pp.241-246
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• 2008

he purpose of this study was to examine the awareness of dental hygienists about medical malpractice and dispute. The subjects in this study were 206 dental hygienists at dental clinics, on whom a survey was conducted. After SPSSWIN 14.0 program was utilized to analyze the collected data, the following findings were given: 1. As for experiences of being complained from patients by age, the dental hygienists who were at the age of 21 to 23 made up the largest age group (39.2%) who had ever meet patients who had grievances. By career, those who had worked for less than a year constituted the greatest group (30.4%) who had the same experiences. It indicated that the dental hygienists who were younger and had a less career had been more complained from patients. 2. In terms of problems posed by patients, scaling came into question the most (14.5%), followed by diagnosis (14.4%), impression (12.9%) and radiography (11.0%). 3. Regarding perception of scaling treatment, 90.8 percent, the greatest percentage, kept records of patients about scaling. As to how to do that, 34.5 percent, the largest percentage, wrote it down and then signed their name. Concerning the way of explaining how to take care of oral health, 82.5 percent gave an explanation without any prints. 4. As to knowledge on the medical law, they got a mean of 12.34 out of possible 16 points. 5. Concerning the necessity of education about the prevention of medical accidents and countermeasures, 70.4 percent felt the strong and urgent need for that.

• The Korean Society of Law and Medicine
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• v.18 no.1
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• pp.297-341
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• 2017

We searched out court rulings on medical affairs through court library search sites and specialized articles on medically relevant judgments sentenced in 2016. And we selected and analyzed the judgements of the court we considered important as follows. In relation to the medical civil judgements, (1) In the case of applying surgery for female infertility during cesarean section operation but it has not been done, we expressed the regret for the lack of judgment in the process of entering the medical contract, introducing the rights infringed and the scope of compensation, (2) We pointed out that the ruling on the medical malpractice estimation goes out of limit of negligence estimation doctrine, and that the court asked very high degree duty of the traditional Korean medicine doctors to cooperate with Western medicine doctors. (3) In the case of admitting hospital's 100% responsibility, we pointed out the court overlooked the uncertainty and good intention of the medical practice. (4) Additionally, We introduced the cases admitted the hospital's responsibility in the accident related to the psychiatric patients in closed ward. Relating to a medical criminal ruling, we analyzed the supreme court decision about whether the dentist's Botox injection on the patient's face is a medical practice within the scope of the license from the viewpoint whether it is within the possible range of the word. And, concerning decisions on healthcare administration, (1) we analyzed the case about when medical personnel operate multiple medical institutions, whether it is possible to get back medical care costs under the National Health Insurance Law, (2) We commented on the ruling regarding explanation obligation in terms of object, degree, subject of explanation as a prerequisite for permissible arbitrary uninsured benefits. Finally, we reviewed the decision of the Constitutional Court about the Article 24 of the Mental Health Law, which it had allowed for a mental patient to be hospitalized forcibly by the consent of two guardians and a diagnosis of a psychiatrist. Also we indicated the problems of the revised Mental Health Law.

• The Korean Society of Law and Medicine
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• v.16 no.1
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• pp.3-82
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• 2015

This paper is concerned in the theme of the liability for the breach of duty to inform(Haftungszurechnung der $Aufkl{\ddot{a}}rungspflichtverletzung$) and the malpractice of cosmetic surgery. Here, the terms, treatments for healing purposes and purely medical-technical cosmetic operations are well integrated in the category of "medical conduct(medizinische Handlung)" within the meaning of the public and administrative 'Medical Law'. In the judgment of 6. 13. 2013 Az. 2012DA94865 provides the KHGH(Korean Highest Court of Justice) to inform the patient about the prospects and risks of cosmetic surgery(Infrabrow Excision Blepharoplasty) stringent requirements, similar to the judicature of BGH(cf. BGH, Urt. v. 6. 11. 1990, Az.: VI ZR 8/90). Even in the judgment of 5. 12. 2014 Az. 2013GASO865646 the SZLG(Seoul Central Regional Court) recognizes the physician contract for 'cosmetic septoplasty' as a sort of contract for work. The medical treatment(${\ddot{a}}rztliche$ Heilbehandlung) is still regarded as a prototype of the medical activity, therefore in the meaning of the 'Civil Law(KBGB)', its term needs to be used immediately for healing purposes. The cosmetic operation, desired by a patient, differs from the healing treatment by the element of "indication" and the fact that the "healing purpose(Heilzweck)" itself is missing. In comparative context - methodically fully aware that the unreflective term transfer between different laws might contradict their legal purposes - a series of judgments BSG(BSGE 63, 83, BSGE 72, 96, BSGE, 82, 158, BSGE 93, 252 etc.) and some judgments of LSG are reviewed. In addition, also the dogmatic topic for the "legal natur of a medical treatment contract" is to reconsider by comparative introducing BGHZ 63, 306. Now in view of the current state of greater popularity of artificial cosmetic surgery still indeed is the sentences: The doctor is minister naturae, a helper of nature. A doctor promises regularly only the proper treatment of the patient, but the contractual liability for work should not be excluded in medical conditions for cosmetic surgeries altogether. "With cosmetic operations, seeking to eliminate the external deformities, the doctor may miss the medical profession entirely." - A. Laufs, Medical Law, 5th ed. P. 18.

• Archives of Plastic Surgery
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• v.44 no.4
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• pp.283-292
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• 2017

Background Settlements between doctors and patients provide a solution to complicated disputes. However, some disputes may be renewed as a result of negligence by both parties. The purpose of this study was to review the legal issues that may potentially arise during the preparation of settlement agreements and to propose a list of requirements for ensuring the effectiveness of these settlement agreements. Methods Data from 287 civil cases concerning aesthetic surgery that took place between 2000 and 2015 were collected from a court database in South Korea. Factors that influenced the effectiveness of settlement agreements were analyzed. Results Among the 287 court precedents, there were 68 cases of covenant not to sue. Eighteen cases were dismissed because the settlement agreements were recognized as effective, and 50 cases were sent forward for judgment on their merits because the agreements were not recognized as effective. The types of surgery and types of complications were classified by frequency. We evaluated the geographical distribution of the precedents, the settlement timing, and the effectiveness and economic impact of the settlements. We found that there was no statistically significant relationship among these factors. Four major factors that made a settlement agreement legally effective were identified, and the data showed that fee-free reoperations were not considered by the court in determining the compensation amount. Conclusions When preparing a settlement agreement, it is advisable to review the contents of the agreement rather than to take the preparation of a settlement agreement per se to be legally meaningful.

• Journal of Korean Medical classics
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• v.27 no.2
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• pp.109-117
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• 2014

Objectives : He Meng-Yao(何夢瑤), a doctor from Qing Dynasty, wrote Yi Bian(醫碥, Fundamentals of Medicine), in which he described many things related to Medical Medicine of divination (醫易). As the content includes a lot of teachings for the posterity, I have studied it. Methods : I have taken from Yi Bian(醫碥) the selections related to Medicine of divination(醫易) and explained them. Results : While accepting the principle of upholding yang and suppressing yin based on the understanding of the Book of Changes(周易) that takes a superior man for yang and a small man for yin, He Meng-Yao(何夢瑤), who thought of both yin and yang as Qi (energy), criticized the contemporary malpractice of uniformly applying the principle. In matching the five viscera to the Eight Trigrams(八卦), he put Qian and Dui Trigram(乾兌) to lung, Kan Trigram(坎卦) to kidney, Zhen and Xun Trigram(震巽) to liver, Li Trigram(離卦) to heart, and Kun and Gen Trigram(坤艮) to spleen, which is reasonable. He didn't fix the position of the vital gate and called it Fire in water(水中之火), and set great store by the role of Fire from Vital Gate(命門火) by calling it Water begetting tree(水生木) when the fire of the vital gate steams the kidney water and turns it into Qi to send it up to liver. He emphasized Water-ascending and Fire-descending(水升火降), which he said involves all five viscera. He also argued that mind runs on the principle of water-ascending and fire-descending. He thought that Qi and blood both originate from kidney, which I think is a significant suggestion. Conclusions : The criticism on the uniform application of upholding yang and suppressing yin, the combination of the five viscera and the Eight Trigrams(八卦), the belief that the Vital gate(命門) is Fire in water(水中之火), the excellent opinion on water-ascending and fire-descending, and the suggestion that Qi and blood both originate from kidney, as presented by He Meng-Yao(何夢瑤), are all theories that should be reasonably appreciated and further developed by the posterity.

• The Korean Society of Law and Medicine
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• v.18 no.2
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• pp.105-138
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• 2017

This is case comments of several representative legal cases regarding self- determination right of patient. In a case in which an intoxicated patient attempted suicide refusing treatment, the Supreme Court ruled that the medical team's respect for the patient's decision was an act of malpractice, and that in particular medical situations (medical emergencies) the physician's duty to preserve life supersedes the patient's rights to autonomy. Afterwards, at the request of the patient's family, and considering the patient's condition (irrecoverable death stage, etc.) consistent with a persistent vegetative state, the Supreme Court deduced the patient's intention and decide to withdraw life-sustaining treatment. More recently, regarding patients who refuse blood transfusions or other necessary treatment due to religious beliefs, the Supreme Court established a standard of judgment that can be seen as conferring equal value to the physician's duty to respect patient autonomy and to preserve life. An empirical study of legal precedent with regard to cases in which the physician's duty to preserve life conflicts with the patient's autonomy, grounded in respect for human dignity, can reveal how the Court's perspective has reflected the role of the patient as a decision-making subject and ways of respecting autonomy in Korean society, and how the Court's stance has changed alongside changing societal beliefs. The Court has shifted from judging the right to life as the foremost value and prioritizing this over the patient's autonomy, to beginning to at least consider the patient's formally stated or deducible wishes when withholding or withdrawing treatment, and to considering exercises of self determination right based on religious belief or certain other justifications with informed refusal. This will have a substantial impact on medical community going forward, and provide implicit and explicit guidance for physicians who are practicing medicine within this environment.