Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2017 Jul-Aug;22(4):294-298.
doi: 10.4103/1735-9066.212977.

Claims about Medical Malpractices Resulting in Maternal and Perinatal Mortality Referred to Iranian Legal Medicine Organization During 2011-2012

Ziba Taghizadeh  1 , Maryam Pourbakhtiar  1 , Masoud Ghadipasha  2 , Kamran Soltani  2 , Khadijeh Azimi  1
Affiliations

Claims about Medical Malpractices Resulting in Maternal and Perinatal Mortality Referred to Iranian Legal Medicine Organization During 2011-2012

Ziba Taghizadeh et al. Iran J Nurs Midwifery Res. 2017 Jul-Aug.

Abstract

Background: Obstetricians, gynecologists, and midwives are the most common specialists of the medical sciences group against whom medical malpractices are claimed, many of which are avoidable and preventable. Therefore, the present study was conducted to investigate the causes of claims regarding medical malpractices resulting in maternal and perinatal mortality.

Materials and methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted and 7616 claims of medical malpractices in the field of obstetrics, gynecology, and midwifery that were referred from all 31 provinces to the central commission of legal medicine were studied during 2011-2012. Therefore, the present research is a national inclusive study covering all the provinces across Iran. To collect information from the transcript of medical malpractices cases, a researcher-made checklist was used, and the collected data were analyzed.

Results: The results of the present study showed that among all the medical malpractice claims regarding pregnancy and childbirth (42.24%), the majority concerned perinatal death (71.82%) and maternal death (28.16%).

Conclusions: Medical malpractice complaints are increasing; although, most of these claims are preventable. To achieve this aim, it is necessary for obstetricians, gynecologists, and midwives to try to reduce the complaints by paying more attention to the signs and symptoms of diseases, performing all the diagnostic and therapeutic measures according to the scientific criteria, and fully document patients' records. In addition, patients' acquaintance with the importance of measurements and examinations, before and during pregnancy care and even after childbirth is crucial.

Keywords: Iran; maternal morbidity; medical error; midwifery; obstetric; perinatal mortality.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

There are no conflicts of interest.

References

    1. Haghshenas M, Vahidshahi K, Amiri A, Rezaee M, Rahmani N, Pourhossen M. Study the frequency of malpractice lawsuits referred to forensic medicine department and medical council. Sari. 2011;22:253–60.
    1. Mahmoodabadi HB, Setareh M, Nejadnick M, Niknamian M, Ayoobian A. The Frequency and Reasons of Medical Errors in Cases Referred to Isfahan Legal Medicine Center. Health Info Manag. 2012;9:101–9.
    1. Elliott JP, editor. Seminars in perinatology. Elsevier: 2012. The medical and legal aspects of maternal mortality. - PubMed
    1. Adibzadeh A, Ghadi PM, Pour AA, Nakhaei N, Samadi RB, Bastani M. A Study on Medical Malpractices Ending to Death and Disability Referred to Kerman Medical Council's Medical Malpractices Commission. Iran Med Law. 2012;6:141–54.
    1. Hedaiati M, Nejadnik M, Setare M. The Factors Affecting the Final Verdict in Medical Errors Complaints. J Isfahan Med School. 2012;29:1497–509.