Evolution of the physician civil liability: An extreme return to the fault theory

It has always been a common legal idea that a physician shouldn’t be liable of patient‘s corporal loss made without any fault. Doctor’s liability is rationally restricted by his abilities and therefore, he should not be considered responsible for those injuries made without his fault. But most Shiite jurists reject this belief. They account physician’s treatments as quasi-intentional crime and as the result, impose absolute liability on doctors. The Islamic criminal law approved by 1992, accepted the second view and lead to serious criticism of the legal society. As the reaction of this regulation, the new Islamic criminal law which is passed by 2012 has chosen a totally different approach. Now, it is necessary to prove medical fault in order to win a lawsuit against a physician. “Fault” has become a pillar in medical liability and even without any “clearance”. No one could take a malpractice action to the court successfully but through proof of medical fault. This article aims at evaluating the new law and then, determines the final position of Iranian legal system regarding medical liability.