Compensation for pharmaceutical injuries

Updated 28 March 2026

If you have a rare and serious side effect from a medicine, you may claim compensation from the Danish Patient Compensation.

Apply for compensation for pharmaceutical injuries from the Danish Patient Compensation Association

All medicines have side effects. You are usually not entitled to compensation for mild side effects that go away, but you may be eligible for compensation for serious side effects that are rare. The injuries sustained may be psychological or physical.

Compensation

You may be entitled to compensation even if the side effects are described in the package leaflet or your doctor told you about them.

You may be entitled to compensation if

  • the medicine caused the injury
  • your side effects are serious
  • your side effects are rare

Compensation claims awarded – examples

A young woman developed a blood clot in her leg after taking contraceptive pills, and a man developed sensory disturbances in his legs due to the high blood pressure medicines he was taking.

Both patients received compensation because the side effects are rare but serious – and directly caused by the medicines.

No entitlement to compensation

You are usually not entitled to compensation if

  • the injury was caused by the disease being treated
  • the medicine did not produce the intended effect
  • the side effects you have are mild and transient
  • a life-threatening disease is treated with medicine known to cause severe side effects

Whether you are entitled to compensation depends on a specific assessment. We encourage you to apply for compensation if you are not sure.

Scope of the compensation rules

The compensation rules apply to pharmaceutical injuries caused by prescribed medicines and over-the-counter medicines that have obtained regulatory approval and are supplied in Denmark. The rules also apply to pharmaceutical injuries caused by investigational medicinal products given to research participants in clinical trials.

The medicine in question may have been supplied by a pharmacy, hospital, doctor, dentist or a retail outlet that sells over-the-counter medicines. Vaccines are also medicines.

Find out more

Read more about compensation for pharmaceutical injuries on the Danish Patient Compensation Association’s website.