No-fault compensation for treatment injuries in Danish public hospitals 2006-12

We aimed to determine the incidence rate and time trend of approved treatment injuries in Danish public hospitals from 2006 to 2012 and also to identify independent predictors of severe treatment injuries among patient and system factors and characterize the injuries.

We performed a nationwide, historical observational study on data from the Danish Patient Compensation Association, which receives all compensation claims from Danish health care. All approved closed claims of treatment injuries occurring in public hospitals 2006-12 were included. Health care activity information was obtained through Statistics Denmark.

Incidence rates were determined as treatment injuries per year by population and by public hospital contacts. By using a multivariable logistic regression model, we calculated mutually adjusted odds ratios to assess the association between potential predictors and severe injuries among approved claims.

We identified 10,959 approved treatment injury claims in 2006-12. The total payout was USD 339 million. The mean incidence rate medians were 27.9 injuries/100,000 inhabitants/year and 0.21 injuries/1000 public hospital contacts/year. These did not increase overtime. Severe injuries and preventable cases comprised 11.0 and 41.0%, respectively. Predictors of severe injury included age 0 and above 40 years, male gender and higher level of comorbidity.

The incidence rate of approved closed claims at Danish public hospitals appears stable. A high proportion of injuries are preventable and both patient- and system-related factors may predict severe injuries.