Medical Liability Ana Rita Gomes Faculdade de Direito da Universidade Nova de Lisboa

Topics Doctor patient relationship DoctorDoctor duties MedicalMedical Legislation Damage PortuguesePortuguese Legal System

Doctor patient relationship Contractual Extra contractual breach of a contractual obligation violation of rights

Doctor duties o Provide prenatal care o keep the woman aware of the current situation The woman has the right to choose between keep the pregnancy or stop it

Damage Parents Moral damage : suffer and pain due to having a disabled child. Material damage/loss : expenses with hospital, drugs, and others. Child wrongful life: the this child should not have been born Existence and Non-existence

Medical legislation Constitution Article 24 Right to Life – human life is inviolable Article 64 Right to Heath – everyone has the right to health protection … Statute of the Order of Physicians: Article 6: The Order of Physicians has main goals, such as: a) To defend the ethics, medical ethics and professional qualification in order to ensure and enforce the right of users to a qualified medical service. Article 13: Duties b) Fulfill ethical standards that governs the exercise of the medical profession Code of ethics Fundamental ethical principles: respect for life and for the essential dignity of every person. These rights should be addressed along with ethical reflexion: medical ethics. Article 3 and 34: Independence of physicians The physician, in the exercise of his profession, is technically and ethically independent and responsible for his actions Article 35: legis artis Article 5 - duties of physicians The physician must practice his profession with the most respect for the right to the protection of human health and the community. Article 31 – Quality of medical care The doctor (...) has as obligation to provide the best care that is capable of, (...), to promote or restore health, preserve life and its quality...

Portuguese Legal System Wrongful life burden to existence