Expansion of National Compensation for Unavoidable Obstetric Accidents... Severe Disabilities in Mothers Also Covered

Ministry of Health and Welfare Expands State Compensation Coverage After Raising Limits
Scope to Extend to High-Risk Essential Medical Procedures in May Next Year

From now on, the state will provide compensation even if a mother suffers a severe disability as a result of an unavoidable obstetric medical accident.

On August 11, the Ministry of Health and Welfare announced that a partial amendment to the Enforcement Decree of the Act on Remedies for Medical Malpractice and Mediation of Medical Disputes, which includes these changes, was approved at a Cabinet meeting.

An unavoidable obstetric medical accident refers to a situation in which, despite the medical staff exercising sufficient duty of care, an unpredictable incident occurs either during labor or after childbirth.

With this amendment to the Enforcement Decree, cases of severe disability in mothers are now newly included among the types of unavoidable medical accidents compensated by the state. Previously, the three categories eligible for state compensation were neonatal cerebral palsy, neonatal death, and maternal death.

Last July, the government raised the maximum state compensation for unavoidable obstetric medical accidents from 30 million won to 300 million won. Now, by expanding the coverage of compensation to include severe harm suffered by mothers, the government is further strengthening its responsibility. The stated objective is to facilitate prompt recovery for patients and reduce the burden on medical staff providing obstetric care by having the state compensate a certain portion of damages even in accidents where the medical staff is not at fault.

Notably, starting next year, the scope of state compensation for unavoidable medical accidents is planned to expand beyond childbirth to all high-risk essential medical procedures. In accordance with the revised Medical Dispute Mediation Act from May, from May 27, 2027, the current state compensation limited only to "childbirth" will extend to include unavoidable medical accidents arising from "high-risk essential medical procedures prescribed by the Ministry of Health and Welfare."

The Ministry of Health and Welfare plans to review the specific targets and scope of expanded compensation, taking into account budgetary conditions. This aims to alleviate the phenomenon of medical professionals avoiding high-risk essential medical fields and to allow them to practice in a more stable environment.

Kwak Soonheon, Director General for Healthcare Policy at the Ministry of Health and Welfare, stated, "We hope that this amendment to the Enforcement Decree will help provide prompt and sufficient recovery for patients while also creating a stable treatment environment for medical professionals. We will continue to implement follow-up measures to the Medical Dispute Mediation Act to lessen the civil and criminal liability of medical staff in medical accidents and to provide swift relief to patients without delay."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.