Medical Responsibility and Liability in Portugal

Abstract

The first section of this chapter provides a brief introduction to the civil and criminal categories of medical responsibility in Portugal, while the second section is concerned with the epidemiological data for cases of medical malpractice in the same context. The core part of the chapter contains a judicial and normative overview of both civil medical responsibility, with particular emphasis on the presumption of guilt and the obligation of means/obligation of means/results—and criminal medical responsibility—focusing on the criminal categorisation of medical acts and medical interventions without the patient’s consent. The fourth and fifth sections of the chapter deal with ascertainment methodology and the role of the Medical Legal Council, respectively. This chapter ends with a conclusion on the current and future situation of the Portuguese system of medical malpractice.