How to file a claim for a patient injury (medical negligence)

To qualify for patient injury compensation, three criteria must be met: 

• The patient injury must be due to medical negligence. 
• The injury must have resulted in a financial loss of at least NOK 10,000, or you must have suffered a permanent and significant injury leading to a medical disability of at least 15 per cent. 
• The injury must not be too old. The main rule is that claims expire after three years. 

You can find more information on the Norwegian System of Patient Injury Compensation website, including the qualifying criteria for patient injury compensation (in Norwegian) or if you can apply for compensation for the injury (in Norwegian). 

The relevant forms are available in Norwegian on npe.no. You can choose to submit the form online or by post. There is also a printable form available that you can complete manually. Note that a separate form applies for drug related injuries.

Complete all sections of the form carefully. Fields marked with an asterisk are mandatory and must be filled in. Try to be brief and precise. 

You will need to provide information about the following: 

• The person who is injured. If you are applying on behalf of someone else, you must attach proof that you have power of attorney and a copy of your ID. If the patient has died, the person applying for compensation must enclose a copy of the certificate of probate. 
• When and at which health care institution / treatment provider the injury occurred. 
• What the injured person was being treated for when the injury occurred, what kind of injury the person sustained and how you believe it occurred. 
• What consequences the injury has had for the injured person. You must indicate whether the injury has resulted in financial loss over NOK 10,000, permanent injury equivalent to a medical disability of at least 15%, other expenses or has had an impact on your job situation. 
• You will also have the opportunity to attach any documents that you believe may be relevant to the NPE’s investigation. 

If you complete the form electronically, you will be able to sign it using your electronic ID and submit it when you have reached the last page of the form. 

Submissions by post should be sent to: 
 
The Norwegian System of Patient Injury Compensation, 
PO Box 232 Skøyen, 
0213 Oslo, 
Norway 

In most cases, you may have to wait for several months before you receive a reply. 

More information about average case processing times at NPE is available here. 
The case processing time may vary depending on the circumstances of the case and the number of applications the NPE has received. 

If you wish to appeal a decision, you must submit your appeal to NPE within three weeks from the date of the decision. 

If NPE finds no reason to reverse its decision, it will forward your appeal to the National Office for Health Service Appeals which is the secretariat for the Patients' Injury Compensation Board (in Norwegian). 

The Patients’ Injury Compensation Board is an independent tribunal that considers appeals against decisions concerning patient injury compensation. The board members have legal and medical expertise and one member is a patient representative. 

If your appeal is upheld, NPE will pay out any compensation or additional compensation. 

Watch the explainer video: Appealing against patient injury compensation decisions (in Norwegian). 

Decisions by the Patients’ Injury Compensation Board are final. This means that you cannot appeal the decision. You may bring your case before the courts for judicial review (in Norwegian). The deadline for filing a legal appeal is six months. 

If you wish to reopen a closed case, new and significant information that was not previously known must be provided. The information must be sufficient to potentially result in a different outcome. It is not sufficient that you disagree with the decision, or that a medical expert has a different assessment of the case. You must clarify what the new information is regarding the case, as well as your case number. 

If you have appealed the NPE’s decision, and your case is being considered or has been considered by the Patients’ Injury Compensation Board, NPE cannot reopen your case. In this situation you must contact the National Office for Health Service Appeals. 

You cannot have your case reopened if you have filed a writ of summons.