Publication: Medical Malpractice Systems Around the Globe: Examples from the US-Tort Liability System and the Sweden-No Fault System
Loading...
Published
2013
ISSN
Date
2017-02-22
Author(s)
Editor(s)
Abstract
In this paper two main medical malpractice systems are discussed - tort liability system in the US and no-fault system adopted in OECD countries- most notably in Sweden. These systems were discussed from administrative issues, deterrence, financing,compensation, costs occur to parties involved in malpractice cases, quality of care and finally their impact on health care costs. Tort liability system is a “social insurance of a market society” where patients are compensated when the negligence is proved to be the cause of the injury, whereas no-fault system is a “social insurance of goodwill” where the patients are compensated without proof of providers’ fault. Tort litigation system has been criticized for being inefficient, unfair, and costly to both patients, health care providers and to health care system. No-fault system is introduced as an alternative totort system and adopted by many developed OECD countries. Although the system is more efficient and less costly for providing compensation to patients, it limits the patient’s right to appeal, and it appears that there is a trade-off between deterrence and the lower litigation costs. In order to overcome problems associated with the tort litigation system, several methods are suggested as an alternative current tort system in the US. These methods are discussed briefly at the end of the paper to provide information on different methods so that the countries who are in a process of planning to set a medical malpractice system could tailor some of suggested methods to their needs. There is no perfect medical malpractice system when the costs of litigation, deterrence, quality of care, financing, and fairness of compensation are considered simultaneously. Therefore, countries should adopt medical malpractice system by tailoring their functions to the conditions and the needs of the country.
Link to Data Set
Citation
“World Bank. 2013. Medical Malpractice Systems Around the Globe: Examples from the US-Tort Liability System and the Sweden-No Fault System. © World Bank. http://hdl.handle.net/10986/26120 License: CC BY 3.0 IGO.”
Digital Object Identifier
Associated URLs
Associated content
Other publications in this report series
Journal
Journal Volume
Journal Issue
Collections
Related items
Showing items related by metadata.
Publication Establishing Private Health Care Facilities in Developing Countries : A Guide for Medical Entrepreneurs(2007)This book is a practical guide for medical professionals who are interested in establishing health care facilities in developing countries. It is intended for individuals and organizations with little or no business experience who are seeking guidance on how to turn a general idea into concrete reality. The author's goals in writing the book were modest. The guide does not provide an exact roadmap for building a hospital or other type of health care facility, nor is there any guarantee that the new entrepreneur who follows the approach described will be able to obtain financing from investors. Rather, the book is designed as an introductory resource with which to begin the process.Publication Republic of Uruguay Integrated National Health System : Analysis of the Governability of the SNIS Benefit Plan(Washington, DC, 2012-11)Today the health reform in Uruguay is a mature, ongoing process in which major progress has been consolidated. At the same time, like all systems, it faces challenges in the immediate, medium, and long term, and how they are resolved will not only shape the ultimate outcome of many of the processes currently under way, and but will also impact the sustainability of the accomplishments so far. The purpose of this study is to contribute to development of the integrated national health system (SNIS) by analyzing and identifying policy options aimed at improving its governance, equity, efficiency, and sustainability through the government's use of control variables in order to achieve and maintain conditions of governability and efficiency, which will contribute to the stability and sustainability of the results. The present study analyzes the main variables that Uruguay has at its disposal to manage a central aspect of regulating the sector namely, the plan of benefits that the population receives to cover their health needs. This plan has important consequences for both health and the economy. The specific objectives of the study were to analyze the following three aspects of the SNIS: (i) the conditions of governance and governability of its benefit plan, (ii) methodological aspects of determining the premium to be received by insurers, and (iii) the capacity of the management information systems that are being used to monitor and evaluate the benefit plan. The document has three sections: (i) background; (ii) health coverage: critical aspects that affect its governability, specifically: (a) the benefit plan and the conditions of its governance, (b) the methodologies used to determine the premium, and (c) the health information systems used to monitor and evaluate the benefit plan; and (iii) conclusions and policy options. Finally, there are seven annexes that provide details on the topics discussed.Publication Trade in Health Services : What’s in it for Developing Countries?(2009-11-01)This study summarizes the existing knowledge and relevant abstracts and case-studies on the design of health and/or trade reforms and policies. The study aims to contribute to the understanding of the potential benefits and risks - and ways to maximize the former and minimize the latter - of trade in the health sector. It is designed for non-trade (health) experts to understand how trade can help to improve health systems and access to health services, and for trade specialists to understand the specific characteristics of the health sector.Publication Getting Better : Improving Health System Outcomes in Europe and Central Asia(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2013-06-10)This report is about how to improve health system outcomes in countries in the Europe and Central Asia (ECA) region. Long-term historical trends indicate substantial room for improvement, especially when ECA's health outcomes are compared to those of the Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, and the United Kingdom (EU-15). Instead of catching up with their Western neighbors, many countries in ECA have been falling behind. This report, which explores the development challenge facing health sectors in ECA, identifies three key agendas for achieving more rapid convergence with the world's best-performing health systems: (i) the first is the health agenda, in which the main imperative is to strengthen public health and primary care interventions to help achieve the 'cardiovascular revolution' that has taken place in the west in recent decades; (ii) the second is the financing agenda, in which growing demand for medical care must be satisfied without imposing an undue burden on households, by achieving better financial protection, or on government budgets, by ensuring a more efficient use of resources; and (iii) the third agenda relates to broader institutional arrangements. Here, a few key reform ingredients are identified, each of which is common to most advanced health systems but lacking in many ECA countries.Publication Romania : Health Sector Policy Note(Washington, DC, 2008-11-20)Many of Romania's basic health indicators have shown steady improvement since the 1970s. Both male and female life expectancy has gone up, and infant and maternal mortality have declined. Despite this progress, Romania still faces considerable challenges in improving the overall health status of its population. The overarching challenge for the next Romanian government is how to improve equity in access to better quality health care services in a financially sustainable manner. To achieve this goal, the government will need to consider not only overall funding levels, but also further changes to the composition of health sector funding, the distribution and organization of service delivery, accountability and decisions regarding who pays for what services, and incentive mechanisms to improve service quality. The likelihood of an economic slowdown and corresponding pressure on government budgets means that containing health care costs while simultaneously seeking ways to improve the equity, quality and efficiency of care will be paramount. The report ends with several policy options or recommendations.
Users also downloaded
Showing related downloaded files
Publication The Container Port Performance Index 2020 to 2024: Trends and Lessons Learned(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2025-09-22)The Container Port Performance Index (CPPI) provides a global benchmark of how container ports perform in handling vessel calls. Developed jointly by the World Bank and S&P Global Market Intelligence, it measures the time ships spend in port and relates this to the number of containers moved during that time. This approach makes the CPPI a unique diagnostic tool that can highlight patterns in port operations and shed light on global and regional supply chain dynamics. Now in its fifth edition, the CPPI report covers the period from 2020 to 2024. It builds on a well-established methodology to generate scores for more than 400 container ports worldwide. Over time, the CPPI has become a trusted reference point for policymakers, industry stakeholders, and researchers who seek to understand how ports adapt to shocks, recover from disruptions, and identify opportunities for investments, reform and modernization. A major innovation in this edition is the introduction of multi-year trend analysis. Rather than presenting annual snapshots, the report now tracks how CPPI scores have changed across five years. This longitudinal perspective reveals shifts in port performance, showing where scores have risen, fallen, or remained stable. By linking these movements to external factors, the CPPI offers insights into how global and regional supply chains evolve under pressure. The results clearly mirror the crises that have shaken global trade. During the COVID-19 pandemic, CPPI scores in different regions declined sharply as congestion, equipment shortages, and delays overwhelmed many ports. By 2023, global averages rebounded in parallel with easing freight markets and reduced congestion. Yet 2024 brought new challenges: the Red Sea crisis disrupted major trade lanes, while climate-related constraints at the Panama Canal added further stress. These shocks were reflected in lower global and several regional average scores, underscoring the vulnerability of maritime transport to geopolitical and environmental events. The CPPI is not about comparing one port against another, but about understanding changes in performance over time. Ports that improved their scores often did so by reducing time at anchor, optimizing berth operations, investing in digital tools, and strengthening coordination across logistics partners. The evidence confirms that improvements are possible across ports of all sizes, and that rising scores are linked to deliberate actions to minimize time in port relative to containers moved. By consolidating five years of results, this edition transforms the CPPI into a long-term reference point. It shows how global crises have affected shipping, how different regions have adapted, and what lessons can be drawn for future resilience. The World Bank and S&P Global Market Intelligence remain committed to maintaining the CPPI as a global public good, providing transparency, comparability, and practical insights to support more reliable and sustainable maritime supply chains.Publication Digital Progress and Trends Report 2023(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2024-03-05)Digitalization is the transformational opportunity of our time. The digital sector has become a powerhouse of innovation, economic growth, and job creation. Value added in the IT services sector grew at 8 percent annually during 2000–22, nearly twice as fast as the global economy. Employment growth in IT services reached 7 percent annually, six times higher than total employment growth. The diffusion and adoption of digital technologies are just as critical as their invention. Digital uptake has accelerated since the COVID-19 pandemic, with 1.5 billion new internet users added from 2018 to 2022. The share of firms investing in digital solutions around the world has more than doubled from 2020 to 2022. Low-income countries, vulnerable populations, and small firms, however, have been falling behind, while transformative digital innovations such as artificial intelligence (AI) have been accelerating in higher-income countries. Although more than 90 percent of the population in high-income countries was online in 2022, only one in four people in low-income countries used the internet, and the speed of their connection was typically only a small fraction of that in wealthier countries. As businesses in technologically advanced countries integrate generative AI into their products and services, less than half of the businesses in many low- and middle-income countries have an internet connection. The growing digital divide is exacerbating the poverty and productivity gaps between richer and poorer economies. The Digital Progress and Trends Report series will track global digitalization progress and highlight policy trends, debates, and implications for low- and middle-income countries. The series adds to the global efforts to study the progress and trends of digitalization in two main ways: · By compiling, curating, and analyzing data from diverse sources to present a comprehensive picture of digitalization in low- and middle-income countries, including in-depth analyses on understudied topics. · By developing insights on policy opportunities, challenges, and debates and reflecting the perspectives of various stakeholders and the World Bank’s operational experiences. This report, the first in the series, aims to inform evidence-based policy making and motivate action among internal and external audiences and stakeholders. The report will bring global attention to high-performing countries that have valuable experience to share as well as to areas where efforts will need to be redoubled.Publication The Container Port Performance Index 2023(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2024-07-18)The Container Port Performance Index (CPPI) measures the time container ships spend in port, making it an important point of reference for stakeholders in the global economy. These stakeholders include port authorities and operators, national governments, supranational organizations, development agencies, and other public and private players in trade and logistics. The index highlights where vessel time in container ports could be improved. Streamlining these processes would benefit all parties involved, including shipping lines, national governments, and consumers. This fourth edition of the CPPI relies on data from 405 container ports with at least 24 container ship port calls in the calendar year 2023. As in earlier editions of the CPPI, the ranking employs two different methodological approaches: an administrative (technical) approach and a statistical approach (using matrix factorization). Combining these two approaches ensures that the overall ranking of container ports reflects actual port performance as closely as possible while also being statistically robust. The CPPI methodology assesses the sequential steps of a container ship port call. ‘Total port hours’ refers to the total time elapsed from the moment a ship arrives at the port until the vessel leaves the berth after completing its cargo operations. The CPPI uses time as an indicator because time is very important to shipping lines, ports, and the entire logistics chain. However, time, as captured by the CPPI, is not the only way to measure port efficiency, so it does not tell the entire story of a port’s performance. Factors that can influence the time vessels spend in ports can be location-specific and under the port’s control (endogenous) or external and beyond the control of the port (exogenous). The CPPI measures time spent in container ports, strictly based on quantitative data only, which do not reveal the underlying factors or root causes of extended port times. A detailed port-specific diagnostic would be required to assess the contribution of underlying factors to the time a vessel spends in port. A very low ranking or a significant change in ranking may warrant special attention, for which the World Bank generally recommends a detailed diagnostic.Publication Global Economic Prospects, January 2025(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2025-01-16)Global growth is expected to hold steady at 2.7 percent in 2025-26. However, the global economy appears to be settling at a low growth rate that will be insufficient to foster sustained economic development—with the possibility of further headwinds from heightened policy uncertainty and adverse trade policy shifts, geopolitical tensions, persistent inflation, and climate-related natural disasters. Against this backdrop, emerging market and developing economies are set to enter the second quarter of the twenty-first century with per capita incomes on a trajectory that implies substantially slower catch-up toward advanced-economy living standards than they previously experienced. Without course corrections, most low-income countries are unlikely to graduate to middle-income status by the middle of the century. Policy action at both global and national levels is needed to foster a more favorable external environment, enhance macroeconomic stability, reduce structural constraints, address the effects of climate change, and thus accelerate long-term growth and development.Publication Poverty, Prosperity, and Planet Report 2024(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2024-10-15)The Poverty, Prosperity, and Planet Report 2024 is the latest edition of the series formerly known as Poverty and Shared Prosperity. The report emphasizes that reducing poverty and increasing shared prosperity must be achieved in ways that do not come at unacceptably high costs to the environment. The current “polycrisis”—where the multiple crises of slow economic growth, increased fragility, climate risks, and heightened uncertainty have come together at the same time—makes national development strategies and international cooperation difficult. Offering the first post-Coronavirus (COVID)-19 pandemic assessment of global progress on this interlinked agenda, the report finds that global poverty reduction has resumed but at a pace slower than before the COVID-19 crisis. Nearly 700 million people worldwide live in extreme poverty with less than US$2.15 per person per day. Progress has essentially plateaued amid lower economic growth and the impacts of COVID-19 and other crises. Today, extreme poverty is concentrated mostly in Sub-Saharan Africa and fragile settings. At a higher standard more typical of upper-middle-income countries—US$6.85 per person per day—almost one-half of the world is living in poverty. The report also provides evidence that the number of countries that have high levels of income inequality has declined considerably during the past two decades, but the pace of improvements in shared prosperity has slowed, and that inequality remains high in Latin America and the Caribbean and Sub-Saharan Africa. Worldwide, people’s incomes today would need to increase fivefold on average to reach a minimum prosperity threshold of US$25 per person per day. Where there has been progress in poverty reduction and shared prosperity, there is evidence of an increasing ability of countries to manage natural hazards, but climate risks are significantly higher in the poorest settings. Nearly one in five people globally is at risk of experiencing welfare losses due to an extreme weather event from which they will struggle to recover. The interconnected issues of climate change and poverty call for a united and inclusive effort from the global community. Development cooperation stakeholders—from governments, nongovernmental organizations, and the private sector to communities and citizens acting locally in every corner of the globe—hold pivotal roles in promoting fair and sustainable transitions. By emphasizing strategies that yield multiple benefits and diligently monitoring and addressing trade-offs, we can strive toward a future that is prosperous, equitable, and resilient.