What Medical Malpractice Defense Means
Defending a medical malpractice claim in the Georgian system is not a story of helplessness: the Law on Medical Activity gives the physician an entire complex that works from the very first day of a complaint. The foundation is the norm on legal protection: physical or material damage caused to a physician, other medical personnel or a medical institution in the course of medical activity is compensated, in the procedure established by legislation, by the person who caused it. This means the physician is a protected person too — a full-fledged claim for compensation exists in relation to them as well.
The protection of personality is this norm's natural continuation: the physician has the right, through the court and in the manner established by law, to defend honour, dignity, the privacy of personal life, personal inviolability or business reputation against violation. For medical practice the defence of business reputation is not merely a matter of prestige but of the practice's very existence — and the law secures this protection with the court's power.
The Council's Examination — How the Defence Proceeds
The organ examining questions of professional liability is the Council, and the examination procedure is built on the physician's procedural position. The first right is the response to the application or complaint: the subject must answer in writing the circumstances indicated in it, unless the Council declares an oral answer sufficient. In the response the physician must clearly state whether they agree with or deny the circumstances cited in the complaint, substantiate their view and present exculpatory circumstances — this document is the foundation of the defence position.
The second right is attendance: when the Council takes its decision, the parties have the right to be present. The third is the expert element: where the Council considers an examination necessary to decide the matter, it may receive explanations from the relevant persons; and the professional association of physicians of the relevant specialty, with the respondent's consent or at the respondent's request, may participate in the consideration and in the adoption of the decision. Through this machinery the physician receives an assessment of their own case from their professional peers.