Laurette Onckelinx has a law proposal that contains a system with payment of a damages compensation for medical mistakes.
According to the paper ‘La Libre Belgique’, the law proposal is a copy of the French model and it will cost the state about 18 million euro.
The major lines of the proposal:
* There are two possibilities for patients who suffer from a medical mistake:
- To take a case to court
- The right to claim from a fund
* This will be funded with contributions from social security.
* If the doctor is found to be guilty of the mistake, his insurance will cover the damages claim, and not the fund. If the doctor did not make a mistake there will only be a minimum damage compensation.
The procedure of the application of the damage compensation will be maximum 10 months.
In my opinion this proposal is a very good idea. When a person suffers from a medical mistake they have to be compensated by the doctor for the extra cost and possible discomfort. These extra costs can involve a further operation or even long term inability to work.
I also think that doctors have a very busy life and have a lot of patients they have to operate on or take care of. In my opinion mistakes are human. But when a mistake happens during surgery and for example the doctor drank too much alcohol, I really think that something like that should be compensated.
Ruth Blommaert
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My opinion about this whole concept is diverse. I think it is good that the patient can choose between two possibilities to dispute the medical mistake and to claim a reimbursement but I think the duration of statement and payment is quite long. When someone suffers 10 months of complaints because of a medical mistake made by a doctor, that person can probably not wait for 10 months without doing something about it. The person will make already some costs for dealing with the problem.
BeantwoordenVerwijderenAnother unfavorable aspect of the concept is that a doctor is always the strongest party because he possess the knowledge. The patient has to prove if there has happened a medical mistake and probably make expenses to ask to another doctor for a second opinion.
If there has happened a medical mistake, will the doctor who is involved admit he had made a mistake? Because this can cause a lot of damage to the reputation of the doctor.
I think there is only one solution for dealing with this problem which is examine the patient and control the method of working of the involved doctor by an independent doctor. He or she should make a report and give this to the medical staff of the hospital and to the lawyers of the patient and the doctor.
Sofie De Cooman
Imagine this situation: you are getting surgery to your bag and the doctor makes an unforgivable and stupid mistake. Due to this mistake, you’re paralyzed for the rest of your life. The image of the doctor will be blacked, but the patient suffers the consequences. In this situation, the only solid solution is that the doctor pays the patient a compensation. Now, I’m glad that Laurette Onckelinx has a law proposal that says if the doctor makes a mistake, he should come up with the money to compensate the done damage.
BeantwoordenVerwijderenThis law will cost approximately 12 million Euros to the government. With the new system, the patient can go to court if he/she thinks, she has the right to get a compensation and she can also claim a fund. The only negative point from the system is the waiting time. A maximum of 10 months is very long and especially if people have to cover the all the costs in the mean time. Nowadays medicines are very expensive and if you have to take medication due to a medical mistake, you still have to pay the medicines yourself in the period you haven’t received money from the doctor. When you are unable to work due to the medical mistake, the compensation has to be higher I think. If you can’t go to work, you’ll lose your income and you have to pay all the incoming bills and the medication.
Nathalie COUDEVILLE
In my opinion it is a good idea because sometimes you hear strange stories. There are doctors who forget a tool or a piece of cotton in the belly of their patients. These people have to be operated again, this means more costs, for a longer period of time not able to work… the patient himself cannot turn up for it and has to get a compensation for it. But at the other side mistakes are human and it can scare off future doctors. It is also a big cost for the government, again the question where are they going to get the money?
BeantwoordenVerwijderenDe Ridder Steffie