Review of inquest, sue and punishment of dentistry malpractice & errors in Iran

Medical malpractice includes of failure in diagnosis, treatment or disease management of disease and the claims resulting from medical malpractice creates a part of referrals of legal medicine organization, medical council organization, and judiciary system in I.R.IRAN. Guidelines reducing medical malpractice and promoting doctor's defense ability include scientific and practical education of medical team regarding concept and principals of medical malpractice and medical errors in their field, patient’s claims, increasing their knowledge to rules and regulations and ways of increasing safety of medical team. This article has been specialized to patient’s claims from dentists and with a review on concept and principals of medical malpractice and medical errors, and how to investigate about this matter, provides essential information for dentists to increase their legal knowledge and reduce the claims of their services and if sued, they could defend rationally and effectively. Observing scientific and technical standards in diagnostic and remedial measures is the most important criterion which is used at courts and disciplinary committees. Several centers including courts, legal medicine organization, and medical council organization are investigating patient claims of dentists and other doctors. This claim are evaluating based on Islamic punishment law, criminal law, medical council organization and other governmental disciplinary regulations. The punishments mainly include DIEH (mulct or blood-money) and/or regulation punishment. Standardized of dentistry's services, overview of dentist's duties, provide a logical dentistry's practices payment, control over quality of dentistry services, increasing knowledge of dentists about malpractice and medical errors and investigating of them, specializing the court of medical crimes, reform of Islamic punishment law, and finally consulting forensic medicine specialists and covering with professional insurance organizations can improve this situation.