[Legal Compliance of Medical Information in the Case of a Relatively Indicated Secondary Caesarean Section in Obstetric Clinics in Germany - Part I: Status Quo-Survey].

Introduction: In order to guarantee the patient's right to self-determination, in the case of a relative indication for a secondary caesarean section the Supreme Court expects early information about this real treatment alternative and the patient's option to choose the delivery method. The aim of this study throughout Germany was to survey the status quo of legal compliance of the practice of providing information at all German obstetric clinics and a further comparison based on the clinic format.

Methods: All obstetric clinics in Germany were emailed within the context of an anonymous online study using a questionnaire developed on the basis of the BGH judgment of August 28, 2018 (AZ: VI ZR 509/17).

[Legal Compliance of Medical Information in the Case of a Relatively Indicated Secondary Caesarean Section in Obstetric Clinics in Germany - Part II: New Information Concept].

Introduction: The avoidance of liability cases for birth defects due to medical information errors is in the urgent interest of obstetric clinics in Germany. The aim of this study throughout Germany was to have a newly developed information concept with regard to the frequent situation of the relatively indicated secondary caesarean section evaluated by the obstetric clinics in Germany as to its usefulness in practice and to analyze response behaviour on a comparative basis.

Methods: All obstetric clinics in Germany were contacted within the context of an anonymous online study using a specially developed questionnaire and asked to answer 5 questions.

[Assessor liability DGOU].

The legal liability risks in assessments are often overestimated, but also sometimes underestimated. In fact, lawsuits for incorrect assessment are rarely successful, but they are nevertheless annoying and require considerable time for those affected as defendants. In the following, the legal principles of expert opinion liability within and outside of formal court proceedings are presented.

[Medical assessment in the field of Social Act VII: pre-existing damage and causality of apophyseal injuries and detachments].

The medical assessment of affections of the apophyses frequently presents the assessor with problems in causality testing and estimation of functional impairment. Apophyses are the insertion of tendons and are therefore at the center of an acting parallelogram of forces. They fuse via an apophyseal plate in the second decade of life.

[Investigation of the reduction in the disability after fractures in children and adolescents].

The student accident insurance has been part of the German Statutory Accident Insurance (Deutsche Gesetzliche Unfallversicherung, DGUV) for 50 years. In order to assess the reduction in working capacity (Minderung der Erwerbsfähigkeit, MdE) in the event of permanent consequences of accidents and injuries, the recommendation to treat the affected child or adolescent "as an average adult" is currently still valid. The present work deals with the everyday practice of the MdE assessment in children and adolescents and their weaknesses through the transfer of the principles from adulthood.

Noninvasive Continuous Monitoring of Vital Signs With Wearables: Fit for Medical Use?

Background: Wearables (= wearable computer) enable continuous and noninvasive monitoring of a range of vital signs. Mobile and cost-effective devices, combined with powerful data analysis tools, open new dimensions in assessing body functions ("digital biomarkers").

Methods: To answer the question whether wearables are ready for use in the medical context, a PubMed literature search and analysis for their clinical-scientific use using publications from the years 2008 to 2018 was performed.

[Expert Opinions in Court: Liability of the Expert].

Experts in criminal, civil and, increasingly, in social court cases have to present their expert opinions in court. This should be regarded not only as a burden, even if this may at times appear superfluous to the expert, perhaps because the discussion is mere repetition of the opinion he has already written, or because the questions appear to be biased against the expert. Nonetheless, the expert is always advised to appear calm and objective during the interrogation by judges and parties or participants and their legal representatives, and should not allow himself or herself to be provoked by questioning.

[Legal aspects of spondylosis].

Prior to a medical intervention (and also when omitted) it is important to implement the prerequisites for medical treatment as formulated by the legislation during the last decades. Essential points are the timely and comprehensive clarification and informed consent of the patient on diagnosis, therapy, complications and aftercare. The case described here substantiates the essential points which must be considered with respect to operative activities in the interests of the patient as well as the treating physicians.

Early analgesic treatment regimens for patients with acute abdominal pain: a nationwide survey among general surgeons.

Introduction: Early pain relief in patients with acute nontraumatic abdominal pain in emergency departments has been discussed for years. Some randomized trials have addressed this issue but conclusive data are lacking. In this study, we assessed the current treatment practice in German hospitals in order to evaluate the necessity of a further clinical trial.

[Expert opinions in German statutory accident insurance].

German statutory accident insurance covers employees and trainees against occupational accidents, employers bear the inherent charges. Expert opinion is obtained, in particular, for discussing causality questions and for rating accidental health disorders. Causality has to be estimated based on the "theory of essential condition", health disorders have to be substantiated without any reasonable doubt.

[The problem of performing medical procedures without informed consent in unconscious patients].

The principle of informed consent to invasive diagnostic or therapeutic procedures is not applicable in most patients suffering from consciousness disorders. As in other medical situations, German law assigns priority to the patient's autonomy and employs the concept of presumed will inferred from third-party (e.g.

[Risk management in the operation room. Results of a pilot project of interdisciplinary "incident reporting"].

Background: Methods for error analysis are suitable to increase patients' safety as well as staff satisfaction and may avoid, in a sense of process control, financial damage to the hospital. The aim of the presented pilot study was to establish and evaluate an incident reporting system as a first step towards a new safety culture.

Methods: In June 2003 an incident reporting system was introduced in the central surgical suite, in which the surgical and anaesthesiologic departments took part as well medical and nursing staff.

[Differentiation of "accident" and "accident sequelae" in private accident insurance].

In legal and private accident insurance you can find a distinction between "accident" and "results of an accident". In the system of the AUB (general terms of accident insurance) the insurant's injury is a notional part of the accident, which has been criticized by some medical experts. In fact, this distinction could entail different meanings and interpretations of the term "results of an accident", especially in section 10.