Investigating the frequency of medical malpractice in the field of general surgery and some accompanying factors in the Legal Medicine Organization in Guilan province

Background: Medical malpractice means treatment that does not meet accepted medical standards and results in injury, death, or organ dysfunction in the patient. Objective: The present study aims to increase the trend and growth of medical malpractice complaints in different societies and the lack of generalizability of studies from other societies to our community. Methods: In this descriptive and retrospective study, data collection was based on a checklist and using information available in the files at the Legal Medicine Commission of Guilan Province. Results: Out of 84 registered complaint files, 48 were related to male patients and 36 were related to female patients. 17 patients were single and 67 were married. 41 patients were treated in governmental university centers, 6 in non-university governmental centers, and 37 in private centers. 27 cases were treated as emergencies and 57 cases were elective surgeries. 72 cases were therapeutic surgeries and 12 cases were cosmetic surgeries. The location of injury was in the abdomen in 46 cases, upper limbs in 18 cases, lower limbs in 13 cases, and head and neck in 7 cases. Out of 84 registered complaint files, 41 cases were acquitted and 43 cases were found guilty of medical malpractice. Conclusion: The highest number of complaints were related to male, married individuals, cosmetic surgeries, elective surgeries, and in governmental university centers. Among the registered files in the field of general surgery, more than 50% of cases resulted in a guilty verdict for the respective medical malpractice.