Abstract: Objective To analyze the main causes of medical dispute and the main types of medical malpractice. The related problems were discussed in forensic expertise. Methods Forty cases of medical dispute from 2006 to 2008 in our institute were analyzed retrospectively. Results In 40 cases of medical dispute, citylevel hospitals, county-level hospitals, town-level hospitals and private clinics were 11(27.5%), 24(60.0%), 2(5.0%) and 3(7.5%) cases respectively. The internal medicine departments, surgical departments, gynaecological and obstetric departments, pediatric departments and outpatient center were 16(40.0%),10(25.0%), 9(22.5%), 2(5.0%) and 3(7.5%) cases, respectively. The amount of cases from city-level hospitals, county-level hospitals diagnosed by the medical experts as the medical malpractice showed less than that from town-level hospitals and private clinics. Conclusion The amount of cases of medical dispute from citylevel and county-level hospitals were more than that of town-level hospitals. But the amount of cases diagnosed by the medical experts as medical malpractice from city-level and county-level hospitals were less than that of town-level hospital and private clinics.

Key words: expert testimony, medical negligence, medical disputes