The Danish Patient Insurance Act of 1991 (LOV 1991-06-06 NR 367 OM PATIENTFORSIKRING)

Abstract

In 1991, Denmark established a Patient Insurance Scheme, the fourth Nordic country to do so. Under the various national Nordic schemes, patients can receive indemnification for the consequences of medical injury even where the injury is not caused by negligent treatment. Instead emphasis is laid on whether the injury, viewed in retrospect, could have been avoided or whether the injury, though unavoidable, clearly exceeds the risk that the patient must accept. Differences in the four national approaches are analyzed and it is concluded that a no-fault scheme presents an elegant alternative to the tort law system, which proves to be particularly unsatisfactory in the field of medical accidents.