Abstract:
One of the complexities of societies is the existence of
conflict as well as processes for its resolution. The same
situation comes up between a patient and a health
practitioner. The reason for this is that in the discharge of
his duties, the health practitioner may breach the duty
imposed on him by law while relating with his neighbour
who in this case is the patient. The resultant effect may be
instituting a suit against the defendant, which may be
criminal or civil in nature. The article is concerned with
civil liability and argues that it is not all medical
malpractices cases that must be resolved through litigation.
The argument is that where the liability is civil in nature, it
can be resolved through Alternative Dispute Resolution
(ADR) instead of resolving same through the traditional
method which is litigation. This does not mean that the
researcher intends to show that ADR is superior to
litigation. On the contrary, the intention of this article is to
promote ADR as efficient, effective and empowering tool
for resolving conflicts that pertain to medical malpractice
and to humbly suggest that it is high time Nigeria adopted
ADR methods or strategies as a means of resolving cases on
medical negligence thereby ensuring that among other things availing parties to choose other mechanisms in
resolving their disputes, reduce the workload of the Courts and, establish better relationships among the disputing
parties. It is also recommended that institutions must be put
in place to ensure compliance.
