67 compensation cases have been settled, and of these, five cancer patients have received compensation after delayed surgery. Only five cancer patients who were operated on late for stomach and colon cancer at Aarhus University Hospital have so far been awarded compensation. This is reported by Jyllands-Posten. In total, there have been 98 compensation cases filed with the Patient Compensation Board (Patienterstatningen). While five cases have been recognized, 62 cases have been rejected. 31 cases are still pending. The case began to unfold a year ago when it emerged that 313 patients had not been operated on within the maximum of 14 days they were entitled to.
The five recognized cases represent nearly eight percent of the complaints that have so far received compensation. The Patient Compensation Board is the authority in Denmark that determines whether patients can receive compensation if they have been harmed in the healthcare system or have experienced side effects from medication. Deputy director at the Patient Compensation Board, Martin Beck Erichsen, is not surprised by the low recognition rate, according to Jyllands-Posten. The complaint and compensation law only allows for compensation if harm has occurred to the patient. It is not enough that errors or delays have occurred, he points out to the media.
“For this group of cancer patients, they are already so ill that we could not prove that the delays significantly worsened the patients’ survival prognosis, that they missed out on treatment options, or that they had to endure a harsher treatment course,” he told the media. In total, according to Jyllands-Posten, 421,224 Danish kroner have been awarded in compensation to four patients. One patient received compensation in two cases, totaling 276,094 Danish kroner. Compensations are paid by the Central Denmark Region (Region Midtjylland), and the region has not appealed the compensation cases, as reported by Jyllands-Posten.