J.Jpn. Surg. Soc.. 123(4): 330-338, 2022

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Feature topic

COURT CASES INVOLVING REFUSAL OF MEDICAL TREATMENT, ESPECIALLY UNCOOPERATIVE PATIENT BEHAVIOR

In an analysis of 64 court judgments in which the refusal of treatment by a medical practitioner was contested, the actions of the practitioners, such as a breach of the duty to provide medical care, were deemed to have been illegal in only 11. In cases where medical treatment was denied due to patients’ behavior, the court accepted the legal arguments of medical institutions in the majority. There were also cases in which patients’ claims of denial of medical treatment were found to be false. These results suggest that it is possible to opt out of providing medical treatment in cases where it is difficult to provide due to various factors, including uncooperative or intransigent patient behavior.

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