Supporting safer treatment
We work with health providers to support people affected by treatment injuries, improve treatment injury reporting, and partner with the health sector to prevent injuries from treatment.
On this page
Understanding treatment injuries
What is a treatment injury?
A treatment injury is a personal injury caused from treatment provided by a registered health professional. To be covered, the injury must:
- involve physical harm or damage
- be caused by treatment from a registered health professional
- not be a necessary part or ordinary consequence of the treatment.
We can cover many different types of treatment injuries, including:
- Surgical injuries
- Healthcare associated infections
- Pressure injuries
- Fetal anticonvulsant syndrome
- Neonatal encephalopathy
Video | Understanding treatment injury cover
Lodging a treatment injury claim
Accurate and timely reporting helps ensure patients receive the right treatment at the right time, and provides valuable information that can help reduce future harm.
Our resources can help you determine whether a treatment injury claim should be lodged and support you through the process. The claim guide explains the criteria for treatment injury cover, the clinical information required, and best-practice approaches for claim lodgement.
Treatment injury claim lodgement guide
Treatment injury claim lodgement flowchart
Preventing treatment injuries
We aim to reduce injuries in New Zealand that are related to treatment from registered health providers. To do this, we’re working with the health sector and leading and supporting prevention programmes.
Learn more about making treatment safer
Supporting pelvic mesh injuries
We provide cover for treatment injuries from pelvic mesh surgery.
Useful resources
Treatment injuries can occur across a range of healthcare settings. Understanding why they happen helps identify opportunities to improve care and reduce harm.
In 2021 we published a report on claims for treatment injuries in New Zealand to helps us understand why these injuries happen.
Last published: 28 September 2026