Liability for and insurability of biomedical research with human subjects in a comparative perspective

The background for this study was the fact that in 1999 the Dutch legislation introduced a duty for the person who is engaging in the biomedical research to take care of insurance on behalf of the patient. The goal of this legislative arrangement was to guarantee that the person engaging in biomedical research would be compensated without great difficulties in case damage arose. The obligation for the one engaging in this research to take insurance coverage should guarantee that, in case of damage, the victim would be able to claim compensation directly from the insurer. Now a critical evaluation of the functioning of this legislative arrangement had to take place and a serious look at the situation in Europe. Country reporters of Belgium, England, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland describe the insurance and liability arrangements concerning biomedical research in their country. A comparative analysis completes the survey.