Innovating Compensation for Medical Liability in the Netherlands

In the Netherlands, concerns about the negative experiences of patients with legal procedures following adverse medical events have led to potentially profound changes in the field of procedural complaint- and compensation law. This chapter offers insight into the Dutch legal framework of compensation for damage caused by healthcare. We start by presenting the traditional framework in the paragraph on the Dutch landscape of medical liability. Having laid the groundwork, we try to explain the innovations that have recently been introduced, in the paragraph dealing with efforts for reform. We elaborate on the problems patients experience when they claim for compensation, the impact legal procedures can have on both patients and healthcare professionals, the recent changes in legislation trying to address these problems, and how these changes might entail a new reality force both healthcare and legal professionals.