EVOLUTION OF MEDICAL LIABILITY FOR ETHICAL MISCONDUCT IN FRANCE

Abstract

When we study medical liability for medical misconduct
it is necessary to talk about the content of the obligation
of information and about penalties in case of non-compliance.
Concerning the content of the obligation, one of the key
questions was to know the nature of the risks which have
to be mentioned to the patient. Today, when we observe
the jurisprudence, we realize that the only condition is
that all the risks known by the doctor have to be communicated to the patient.
Concerning the penalty for breach of information the
Supreme Court has created a kind of presumption of prejudice binding the obligation of information to fundamental rights such as the protection and the dignity of the
human being and the integrity of the human body. This
now makes it possible to automatically punish the failure
in information by sentencing the doctor to compensate
the victim.