Advantages and disadvantages of the Belgian not-only-fault system for medical incidents

Abstract

In 2010, the Belgian compensation system for medical incidents was reformed, in order to overcome some important deficiencies of court procedures. This resulted in a not-only-fault compensation system, following the establishment of the Fund for Medical Accidents (FMA). This paper seeks to clarify the main advantages and disadvantages of this reform. After all, the legislator paid little attention to the impact on physicians, who also seem to be insufficiently informed. However, currently the FMA experiences a significant delay in processing compensation requests. The true effects of the not-only-fault system for patients and physicians as well as for health care quality therefore still remain unclear today.