In 2025, data from the report the National Office for Compensation for Medical Accidents (ONIAM) reveal that requests for amicable compensation before the Conciliation and Compensation Commissions (CCI) increased by +16%. At the same time, litigation claims for compensation initiated directly before the courts, without prior proceedings before the CCIs, increased by +18%. Compensation for victims of Dépakine® is included in ONIAM’s missions.
These data illustrate better knowledge of ONIAM and CCIs by people who consider themselves victims of the functioning of the health system. The 5 compensation missions of ONIAM are as follows:
• Victims of a medical accident
• Victims of transfusion contamination
• Victims of vaccine injury
• Victims of Médiator® (benfluorex)
• Victims of Dépakine® (sodium valproate)
What to remember
• En 2025, ONIAM’s compensation expenses increased to reach just over €195 million.
• Since 2018the compensation paid is increasing by approximately 70 %.
• In 2025, the Conciliation and Compensation Commissions (CCI) organized, thanks to the voluntary work of their members, 197 sessions in all territories, as close as possible to the homes of people who consider themselves victims of a medical accident. The CCIs issued 55% opinions in favor of compensation for admissible files. More than 4,000 expert missions have been carried out.
• The processing time for requests is just over 10 months was impacted by the time required for medical expertise work of almost 6 months on average.
• The ONIAM medical accident service compensated nearly 1,065 people. 96% of ONIAM’s amicable offers were accepted. The average amount of compensation reached €159,000, which represents an increase of almost 75% in 8 years.
• Since its creation by the law of July 2011, the college of experts has received nearly 10,272 claims for compensation which led him to issue approximately 40% favorable reviews compensation.
Focus on the victims of sodium valproate (Dépakine)
The system, established by the law of December 29, 2016 and entered into force on December 1is June 2017, aims to facilitate amicable compensation for damages resulting from the prescription of sodium valproate or one of its derivatives during pregnancy and to ensure full compensation for damages attributable to this prescription. This system was modified by the finance law of December 28, 2019 for 2020, which notably merged the former collegial bodies into a single college of experts.
The panel of experts decides on the attributability of damage linked to the prescription of sodium valproate or one of its derivatives during pregnancy and issues an opinion, following a written and contradictory procedure, on the circumstances, causes, nature and extent of the damage and designates the persons responsible. Since the implementation of the system, ONIAM received 4,282 requests for compensation: 1,002 from direct victims (including 49 in 2025) and 3,280 from indirect victims (including 141 in 2025). The stock of files in progress before the panel of experts as of December 31, 2025 amounted to 70 dossiersto which should be added 16 requests for reopening or reconsideration following a first decision rendered by the former authorities or an opinion rendered by the panel of experts.
• 2025 activity report of the National Office for Compensation for Medical Accidents, Iatrogenic Conditions and Nosocomial Infections (ONIAM) adopted at the meeting of the Board of Directors of June 23, 2026. PDF
