compensation for the family of the injured person who might suffer chronic impairment a result of medical malpractice. For example, on 9\2\1989, the French Court of Cassation issued a decision in favor of compensating the family of a person who suffered chronic impairment due to medical malpractice. They were compensated for the stress which was inflicted on the family as a result.11 5) Compensation for medical accidents without admission of liability: The judiciary no longer requires serious medical errors to hold the State liable for redressing medical risks, and this is on the grounds that the administration’s responsibility for medical accidents that occur in public medical facilities is part of its responsibility for providing services. Consequently, the administration’s liability arises when the injury caused is due to maladministration and mismanagement of the medical facility, or failure to provide the necessary service for the patients. In this case, insurance companies will not guarantee compensation for their relevant insured health professionals. On the contrary, compensation is to be incurred by the social insurance fund of the French Ministry of Health12. This principle was adopted with the hope that legislation would include clear provisions of law that allow compensation for those injured through medical malpractice in general, especially after a draft law was submitted to the French parliament in 1998 and approval of legislation thereof in 2002. 6) Insurance of the protection of the patient against medical malpractice: Ensuring the safety of the patient implies that the physician is responsible for providing the appropriate health service for the patient in addition to due diligence. The obligation to ensure a patient’s safety was introduced into law first in sea transport and then in land transport before it became a general principle of all aspects of human life. Once the physician fails to realize the desired effect, there is no need for proving the medical error he might have committed, even if he can defend himself by proving that the medical error occurred due to force majeure or due to an error committed by another person or by the injured himself.13 Jurists have spared no effort to make a physician’s commitment to patient safety obligatory, and this is without 11 Fawaz Saleh, “Physicians’ Civil Liability: Comparative Study in Syrian and French Law”, published on www.syrianbar.org. 12 The French legal system used the social insurance fund for traffic accidents in accordance with Law 31, December, 1951. It also used it for redressing physical injuries arising from riots according to Law 5\77 of 1977, amended in 1981 and 1983. In addition, it was used for combating terrorism and protecting state security in 1986. See also Qasim, pp. 123-133. 13 Ibid. 5