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From Jahresbericht Medizinischer Dienst: Mehr Todesfälle durch Behandlungsfehler, tagesschau.de, 20 August 2026. Quoted for study. The words are the publisher's; the analysis is ours.
Meaning
Experts reviewed around 11,700 reports of suspected medical treatment errors last year on behalf of the health insurance funds.
Word for word: Around 11,700 suspicion-reports of medical treatment errors have experts in the past year on behalf of the health-insurance-funds reviewed.
Reports that medical treatment errors may have occurred were examined by experts commissioned by the health insurers during the previous year; typical of news reporting.
A declarative main clause in the perfect tense. The accusative object 'Rund 11.700 Verdachtsmeldungen...' is fronted for emphasis, so the sentence is verb-second with the finite auxiliary 'haben' in position two and the past participle 'überprüft' at the end. 'Experten' is the plural nominative subject, 'im vergangenen Jahr' a weak-adjective time phrase, and 'im Auftrag der Krankenkassen' a genitive prepositional phrase.
Rules at work(9)
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Verdachtsmeldungen ... haben ... überprüft
The fronted accusative object occupies first position, pushing the finite verb 'haben' into second position.
In a German main clause the finite verb is always the second element. The first element can be the subject, but it can just as easily be a time expression, an object or a whole subordinate clause; whatever it is, it counts as one element and the verb follows it. This is why putting something other than the subject first pushes the subject after the verb.
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haben ... überprüft
The transitive verb 'überprüfen' forms its perfect with the auxiliary 'haben' plus the past participle in final position.
The perfect is the ordinary spoken past. It is built from the present of haben in second position and the past participle at the end of the clause. Most verbs take haben, including every verb with a direct object and every reflexive verb.
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überprüft
The inseparable prefix über- means no ge- is added: infinitive 'überprüfen' becomes 'überprüft'.
A weak verb forms its participle as ge plus stem plus t, a strong verb as ge plus a often changed stem plus en. Verbs with an inseparable prefix and verbs ending in ieren take no ge at all.
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Verdachtsmeldungen
'Verdachtsmeldungen' is the direct object of 'überprüfen' and stands in the accusative plural.
The accusative marks the direct object: the thing the action is done to. Only the masculine changes visibly, from der to den and from ein to einen, which is why the masculine is where accusative errors show.
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Experten
'Experte' is a weak noun; the plural subject form is 'Experten'.
A group of masculine nouns takes an n or en in every case but the nominative singular: der Student but den Studenten, dem Studenten, des Studenten. Most denote people and many end in e, ent, ist or ant.
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im vergangenen Jahr
After the definite-article contraction 'im' the adjective takes the weak ending -en.
After a definite article the adjective ending is e in the five nominative and accusative singular slots and en everywhere else, because the article has already shown the case and gender.
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medizinische Behandlungsfehler
With no article before the plural accusative noun, the adjective takes the strong ending -e.
With no article in front of it the adjective has to carry the case marking itself, so it takes the endings the definite article would have had, with the exception of the masculine and neuter genitive singular.
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im Auftrag der Krankenkassen
The phrase 'im Auftrag' governs the genitive, so the article appears as 'der' for the plural.
The genitive shows possession and follows a small set of prepositions. Masculine and neuter nouns add s or es. In speech it is often replaced by von plus the dative, but it is alive in writing and in fixed expressions.
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Verdachtsmeldungen, Behandlungsfehler, Krankenkassen
All three nouns are compounds; the linking element -s appears in Verdachtsmeldung and Behandlungsfehler.
German builds long nouns by joining shorter ones. The last part carries the gender and the plural, and everything before it modifies what follows, so a compound is read from the right.
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Words(15)
- rund
around, approximately
adverbB1degree
- 11.700
11,700
numeralA1
- die Verdachtsmeldung
report of suspicion, suspected-case report
nounC1pl. Verdachtsmeldungengen. Verdachtsmeldungmixed declension
- auf
on, onto
prepositionA1governs accusative or dative
Location takes the dative, movement towards the accusative.
- medizinisch
medical
adjectiveB1
- der Behandlungsfehler
treatment error, medical error
nounC1pl. Behandlungsfehlergen. Behandlungsfehlersstrong declension
- haben
to have
verbA1haben, hatte, hat gehabtmit habenirregular
As an auxiliary it forms the perfect tenses of most verbs.
- der Experte
expert
nounB1pl. Expertengen. Expertenweak declension
- im
in the
prepositionA1governs dative
Fixed fusion of in + dem; the dative is built in.
- vergangen
past, last
adjectiveB1-, -
Fixed in the phrase 'im vergangenen Jahr' = last year.
- das Jahr
year
nounA1pl. Jahregen. Jahresstrong declension
- der Auftrag
order, commission, behalf
nounB1pl. Aufträgegen. Auftragsstrong declension
- der
the
determinerA1definite
Appears twice: dative feminine 'der Wirtschaft' and nominative plural 'die Beschlüsse'.
- die Krankenkasse
health insurance fund
nounB2pl. Krankenkassengen. Krankenkassemixed declension
- überprüfen
to check, to review, to verify
verbB2überprüfen, überprüfte, überprüft hatmit habenweak