Legal characteristics of expert opinions of anaesthetic cases of the North German Arbitration Board]

The Arbitration Board for Medical Liability Issues of the State Medical Councils of Northern Germany in Hannover (North German Arbitration Board, NGAB) settles about 100 cases in the area of anaesthesiology per year. In these proceedings the patient carries the burden of proof. I. e. the patient has to prove that its health damage was caused by a medical error. Nevertheless, for individual cases the NGAB examines also whether facilitation of the burden of proof can be granted to the patient. This article exemplifies cases, for which the NGAB recognized such facilitation of the burden of proof. In each of these cases, the NGAB asserted the damage claim.