Luís Fernando Pimentel de Oliveira Vasconcelos Abreu

Research Group: Governance, Economy and Citizenry

Supervisor(s): Manuel Pita

Summary

This work deals with medical contractual liability under Portuguese private law. It is divided into four parts. In the first, which corresponds to the introduction, the relationship between law and medicine is analysed, a brief note is provided with regard to what medicine is today, in all its diversity and complexity, with reference to so-called evidence-based medicine (EBM), due to its significance to the issue of liability, the current paradigm of the physician-patient relationship is defined, as opposed to the paternalistic model of the past, the role of ethics and medical ethics is examined, and the object of the study is indicated and its plan outlined. The second part references the many contributions regarding this matter, highlighting, almost always individually, what each author said, either within the scope of legal doctrine or within that of medical doctrine. This work is indebted to all of them. At this point, attention is given, as detailed as possible, to the case law of Portuguese higher courts - Courts of Appeal and Supreme Court - on cases of medical liability in private law, from 2000 to 2014, grouping them by different medical specialties and by the most common types of events. In the third part, the state of the matter as it currently stands under Portuguese law is analysed; doctrinal and jurisprudential contributions that were previously referenced are critically analysed; and an attempt is made to provide a personal contribution. Finally, in the fourth and final part, the main conclusions of the study are listed.

Period: 2009 - 2015

Resources: http://hdl.handle.net/10071/10007