Psychological damage after suicide - no basis for compensation

A father made a claim for compensation under section 2 subsection 1 (a) of the Patient Injury Act for financial loss due to psychological damage after his 20-year-old daughter committed suicide due to treatment failure in the health care system. There was agreement that the suicide would probably have been avoided if she had received adequate treatment. There were grounds for liability, and there was in fact a causal link between the treatment failure and the father's psychological damage. However, the Supreme Court's majority of four justices - in contrast to the previous instances - found that the legal requirement for an adequate causation between the acts giving rise to liability and the damage was not met. The suicide and the circumstances surrounding it could not be considered a "particular burden" beyond the actual loss of the daughter. There was a complex series of causes, and the father's psychological damage was not so close to the treatment failure that it was reasonable to attach liability to it. The Court ruled in favour of the State represented by the Patient Injury Board. Dissenting opinions 4-1.

Read the whole judgment (Norwegian only)

Areas of law: Erstatningsrett. Pasientskadeloven § 2 første ledd bokstav a

Key paragraphs: 48, 63

Justices: Øie, Webster, Arntzen, Høgetveit Berg og konstituert dommer Elsheim