Orthopedic Surgery and its Resulting liabilities under the Iranian Legal System

The Medical liability like any other liability includes civil and criminal liabilities. The nature of medical practices is so that the possibility of the occurrence of damage is unavoidable therein. All the patients have the right to expect a standard medical treatment from the physicians. But، this does not mean that the physicians should guarantee for the patients a satisfactory treatment result، since the involvement of various factors may change the final and foreseeable result of the treatment; therefore not obtaining a desired result in the treatment of patients does not necessarily mean the physicians’ faults. The orthopedist deals with the treatment of the patients suffering from diseases of the bones، joints and the spinal column. These diseases include fractures، luxations، congenital and acquired paralyses، repair of tendons and peripheral nerves and treatment of bone tumors. This heavy duty، however، involves risks for the physicians and also the patients; consequently، this paper deals with the study of the basis of the fault and the conditions for the realization of the criminal liability of the orthopedic surgeon taking into consideration the legal development of the medical liability in the Islamic Punishment Act 2013.