Legal aspects of contraceptive implants.

©FSRH J Fam Plann Reprod Health Care 2010: 36(4) Introduction Litigation can be seen as a reflection of medical error and harm to patients. Studying litigation may reveal trends from which lessons can be learned, leading to improvements in patient safety.1 The threat of litigation may be of some value in increasing investment in safety.2 An alternative to costly litigation is a no-fault compensation system, as was established in New Zealand in 1974.3 In this system, doctors of good standing who generally perform well are not punished by being subjected to an adversarial legal system. Members of the public who are harmed by errors receive fair, timely compensation. However, such a system may result in less accountability.3 This article aims to review some legal aspects of contraceptive implants. Three types of incident repeatedly feature in legal cases in a range of countries: non-insertion, deep insertion and nerve injury.