Liability for and Insurability of Biomedical Research with Human Subjects in a Comparative Perspective

Recent Dutch legislation has been introduced stating that biomedical research on humans can only be undertaken when an insurance contract covering the damage as a result of death or personal injury of the patients has been concluded. The aim of this legislation is to ease the acquiring of compensation for test subjects in case damage arises in the course of biomedical research. As such, victims are able to claim compensation directly from the insurer, irrespective of any liability.This volume presents a critical evaluation of the functioning of this legislative arrangement and the situation in various European countries is examined. Country reporters from Belgium, England, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland describe the insurance and liability arrangements relating to biomedical research in their country. The concluding three reports of this volume examine the situation from both a comparative and international perspective.Recent Dutch legislation has been introduced stating that biomedical research on humans can only be undertaken when an insurance contract covering the damage as a result of death or personal injury of the patients has been concluded. The aim of this legislation is to ease the acquiring of compensation for test subjects in case damage arises in the course of biomedical research. As such, victims are able to claim compensation directly from the insurer, irrespective of any liability.§This volume presents a critical evaluation of the functioning of this legislative arrangement and the situation in various European countries is examined. Country reporters from Belgium, England, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland describe the insurance and liability arrangements relating to biomedical research in their country. The concluding three reports of this volume examine the situation from both a comparative and international perspective.