Medical Liability in Europe

Ten years after the first ECTIL project in this field, liability for medical malpractice is still a hot topic throughout Europe and it continues to expand and develop. This study compares thirteen European jurisdictions on the basis of country reports authored by renowned experts from each legal system. In addition to providing a theoretical survey of key issues, contributors analyzed six hypotheticals based on actual cases, thereby also providing practical guidance on major aspects of liability claims.

Liability law is rapidly changing in quite a number of countries. This is due to various factors, which are interrelated to a large extent: changing case law and legislation as well as increased and still increasing technical and medical knowledge. As a result, various occupational diseases can, for example, be attributed to working conditions or personal injury to specific products. From the very moment that causation can be proven, the question arises of whether or not liability can be established - with far-reaching economic consequences for all parties involved.

The rise of phenomena such as mass torts, multiple causation, joint and several liability or various heads of damages (like ecological damage and several diseases and affections) rapidly increases the interest in tort law. In the context of the interrelation between liability and insurance, attention must be paid to the question of whether certain liabilities are still coverable or not, and, if they are, to what amounts. The question of jurisdictions is of growing importance as is the question of whether a specific liability can be covered by insurance. In this context, one should bear in mind that the affordability of tort law also requires safe and sound insurers. The recent past has shown that there is a limit to their financial stability.