Acknowledgement of "no fault" medical injury: review of patients' hospital records in New Zealand.

Investigations of the epidemiology of adverse events have advanced the safety of patients in hospital. These studies, however, were done in tort jurisdictions, where the fear of litigation may have inhibited frank and open discussion. New Zealand abolished tort liability in 1972, instead providing an administrative system of compensation without the need to prove fault. We analysed data on adverse events in hospitals in New Zealand and the extent to which medical injury is acknowledged in patient records.