Medical Accident Liability and Redress in English and French Law

French law on clinical negligence and compensation of medical accident victims provides a particularly innovative model for potential reform in England and elsewhere. This book will appeal to all those interested in reform in this area as well as in French tort law and comparative tort law more generally.

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In 2002 France introduced an out-of-court settlement scheme for medical accidents. The scheme guarantees compensation for the victims of the most serious medical accidents irrespective of fault and operates in parallel with existing liability rules. In this book Simon Taylor compares English and French law on medical accident liability and redress and considers what lessons the French model can provide for potential reform in England and elsewhere. Taylor emphasizes the effect of the English and French rules on access to compensation and on the cost of liability and examines the problems that have been posed by the introduction of an administrative redress scheme in France. This book looks at the potential consequences of English and French rules for the doctor-patient relationship and for patient safety, and considers the role that national legal traditions and cultures of civil liability in England and France play in shaping national law in this area.