The main causes of orthopedics and traumatology litigation in Italy: state of the art and review of the literature

The current situation is complex and not homogeneous, given the increase in litigation and the different legal framework at international level. This work wants to assess the situation in Italy, with the aim of helping to identify the various critical issues and possibly formulate effective corrective actions. A risk management policy was introduced in Italy about 20 years ago. In the region of Lombardy, resolution 46/SAN 2004 and subsequent amendments structured and implemented a detailed litigation analysis process, aimed at clinical governance. The inspiring principle is the availability of true data to be able to intervene with effective corrective actions. The main objective is to better protect the patient, but in compliance with the economic sustainability of the treatment and the whole Health Care System. Data relating to litigation in the field of professional liability of specialists in orthopedics and traumatology will be considered in this contribution. We analyzed the data processed by Lombardy Region, in 22 years of litigations.