– We try to look ahead and not be bitter, says Malin Begin (33) from Kristiansand. Malin’s daughter, five-year-old Ella, was initially a perfectly healthy child. A treatment error during the birth in 2017 led to her now having cerebral palsy. Ella cannot move without aids and eats through a tube in her stomach. She has to use a machine that reads eye movements to talk. She has received patient compensation from the state. The compensation will cover the costs she has due to treatment errors for the rest of her life. An expected return of 4 per cent a year has been deducted from the compensation payment. At the same time, the money must remain in a savings account until Ella comes of age. – I don’t know what to say about it, It’s absolutely terrible that it’s like that, says Malin. Forced savings news has previously written about how an expected annual return is considered part of a public patient compensation. This expected return is deducted from the amount that is actually paid out. Only when you combine the payment and the expected return do you have enough money to cover the recipient’s health costs throughout their life. Currently, the state expects that recipients of patient compensation will invest the money in a way that increases its value by 4 percent each year. This is impossible to achieve for children who receive patient compensation. The children must put the money in a separate type of savings account for “guardianship funds”. Here, the money is left until the child comes of age. Parents are not allowed to invest the compensation on behalf of their child. The savings schemes currently have a deposit rate of between 0.15 and 2.3 per cent, according to an overview on the Guardianship Portal. The interest in the savings schemes is lower than the expected return that the government has calculated. As a result, the children do not receive the full compensation to which they are actually entitled. Today, Ella Begin (5) cannot get the return that the state expects. Photo: Private – This is the child’s money, it is what they will live on for the rest of their lives. So when they get an even worse starting point, it feels very painful, says Ella’s father, Kim Begin (34). 1,104 Norwegians under the age of 18 received patient injury compensation between 2011 and 2021, according to figures news has received from Norwegian Patient Injury Compensation. The system must be changed The Ministry of Justice and Emergency Preparedness proposed last year to lower the expected annual return in patient injury cases. According to the proposal, the expected annual return is to be lowered from 4 to 1.5 per cent, until the recipient turns 18. If this is adopted, the difference between the expected return and the interest in the savings schemes will be smaller. –– This case has a high priority for the government and we will determine a regulation within a very short time, State Secretary Hans-Petter Aasen (Sp) told news in July. The consequences for the children can be great, says lawyer Mari Grefslie. She is a specialist in patient injury cases. – In order for the child to receive full compensation, it is necessary that the expected return on the compensation be changed to 1.5 per cent. It is important that that change comes as soon as possible, she says. Lawyer Mari Grefslie believes that it is urgent to get a rule change in place. Photo: Lars Erik Skrefsrud / news According to Grefslie’s calculations, a patient compensation of NOK 5 million for a five-year-old will grow to NOK 7.5 million, if the expected annual return changes from 4 to 1.5 percent. The question now is which children will be able to benefit from the upcoming regulatory change. Norwegian Patient Injury Compensation (NPE) writes in a consultation opinion that new rules should only apply in “cases where the claim is reported after the effective date”. This is completely wrong, say Malin and Kim Begin. They disagree with the NPE’s assessment of Ella’s health, and have asked the Patient Injury Board to reassess her case. They want the size of Ella’s compensation in the future to be calculated based on an expected return of 1.5 per cent a year. Malin is clear about what she will do if this does not happen. – Then I’ll be pissed off. Then I set heaven and earth in motion, then I contact all the media throughout Norway, she says.
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The compensation for Ella (5) must be in a savings account until 2035 – news Norway – Overview of news from different parts of the country
