Could Health Court Be a Solution?

Abstract

Tort compensation system has been known as inefficient system for delivering compensation as well as non-legal remedy such as explanation and apology. Essentially, the system is costly and lengthy as there is considerable delay between the accident and its compensation, and also it is inequitable and unfair between injured patients. There are some serious obstacles to sue doctors because of the difficulty in obtaining expert evidence. Thus, only few injured patients get compensation. This paper aims to examine the health court as a substitute for the present tort litigation system and explore its merits for solving medical negligence claims. The employed methodology for doing this research is a library one.

A Review of Medical Malpractice Issues in Malaysia under Tort Litigation System

“…The issue is not only the increasing number of medical malpractice claims across the world but also inability of tort system to deliver justice through fair and adequate compensation. Generally the tort system has been known as inefficient system for delivering compensation as well as non-legal remedy such as explanation and apology ( Khodapanahandeh & Hambali, 2013 ). Compensation is often unpredictable and success may not be due to the merits of the claims.…”

“…An increase in the number of claims from medical malpractices would involve huge costs in verifying complaints making it all the more important to study and improve existing related laws. The increase must lead to greater attention and radical changes to health care systems ( Khodapanahandeh, 2013 ). Otherwise Malaysia will be faced with a sharp growth in complaints against physicians as experienced in countries such as the United States, Australia, Canada, and the United Kingdom.…”