Medical Malpractice Lawyer

As a medical malpractice and health law lawyer in Mersin, I handle the claims of patients and their relatives who have suffered harm because of a wrong diagnosis or treatment, negligence during or after surgery, infections and failures of care, injuries during childbirth, or procedures carried out without adequate information. Three factors decide the outcome of a medical malpractice case: obtaining the medical records completely and in time, establishing the link between the harm and the medical intervention with an expert report, and filing the case in the correct branch of the judiciary depending on whether the hospital is public or private.

On this page you can find which situations may amount to medical malpractice, the difference between the routes for public and private hospitals, the compensation that can be claimed, the criminal complaint, the mandatory applications before filing a case, limitation periods and how the process works in Mersin.

What Is Medical Malpractice and What Counts as a Doctor’s Error?

Medical malpractice (malpraktis, tıbbi kötü uygulama) is harm to a patient caused by a doctor or healthcare institution failing to show the care and attention required by medical science. Not every unfavourable outcome is malpractice: a complication that arises in an intervention carried out in accordance with accepted medical methods, and that was explained to the patient in advance, does not by itself make the doctor liable. Situations commonly seen in practice are:

• Misdiagnosis or delayed diagnosis: Failure to carry out necessary tests despite symptoms, or misinterpretation of results.
• Treatment and surgical errors: Intervention on the wrong organ or site, a foreign object left in the body, wrong medicine or dosage.
• Late recognition of a complication: Failure to diagnose and treat a complication in time, even if the complication itself was unavoidable.
• Hospital infection and failures of care: Failure to follow hygiene rules, pressure sores, and supervision failures such as falls.
• Injuries during childbirth: Inadequate monitoring of the mother or baby during the birth process.
• Failure to obtain informed consent: Carrying out a procedure without explaining its risks, alternatives and possible consequences to the patient. Even if the intervention was medically correct, liability may arise if the patient was not informed in advance about the risk that materialised.

The doctor must carry out the service undertaken loyally and with care, taking into account the patient’s legitimate interests; liability is determined by reference to the conduct expected of a prudent doctor providing services in the same field (Turkish Code of Obligations, TBK Art. 506). In aesthetic procedures, the practice of the Court of Cassation (Yargıtay) may assess the promised result as well as the doctor’s duty of care.

Public Hospital or Private Hospital? Against Whom Is the Case Filed?

The first question in a malpractice case is where and through whose intervention the harm occurred; the branch of the judiciary and the defendant depend on this:

• Public, state and university hospitals: Compensation cases arising from faults committed by civil servants and other public officials while exercising their powers can be filed, subject to recourse against them, only against the administration (Constitution, Art. 129). For this reason, a compensation case cannot be filed directly against a doctor working in a public hospital; the case is filed as a full remedy action (tam yargı davası) against the relevant administration at the administrative court. An application to the administration is required before filing: it is made within one year of learning of the act that caused the harm and in any event within five years of the date of the act; the case is filed after the application is rejected or not answered within thirty days (Administrative Procedure Law, İYUK Art. 13).
• Private hospitals, private practices and clinics: The case is heard by the ordinary courts and can be filed jointly against the hospital and the doctor at fault. Since the relationship between the patient and a private healthcare institution is based on a contract, the hospital is also liable for the fault of the doctor it employs. Because the practice of the Court of Cassation treats this relationship as a consumer transaction, these cases are mostly heard by the consumer court.

If part of the same treatment took place in a public hospital and part in a private hospital, two separate cases in two separate branches of the judiciary may be necessary.

Which Compensation Can Be Claimed for Medical Malpractice?

• Treatment costs: Costs of additional surgery, medicine, physiotherapy and care needed to remedy the error.
• Loss of earnings and incapacity compensation: Loss of income during treatment and, if permanent disability has arisen, future income losses.
• Carer costs: Where the patient has come to depend on the care of others.
• Compensation for loss of support and funeral costs: For relatives where the patient has died (TBK Art. 53).
• Non-material damages: For the pain and suffering of the patient and, in cases of serious bodily harm or death, of their relatives (TBK Art. 56).

For types of compensation, calculation methods and general rules, see also the material and non-material damages page.

Criminal Complaint in Medical Malpractice

Where a medical error results in the injury or death of the patient, it may constitute the offence of negligent injury (Turkish Criminal Code, TCK Art. 89) or negligent killing (TCK Art. 85). Simple forms of negligent injury are subject to complaint, and the complaint must be made within six months of learning of the act and the perpetrator. Opening a criminal investigation against doctors working in public hospitals is generally subject to the permission of the administrative authority designated by law (Constitution, Art. 129).

The expert report obtained in the criminal file is also important evidence in the compensation case; however, an acquittal by the criminal court does not mean there is no civil liability. The compensation and criminal processes need to be planned together. For the definitions of the offences, see negligent killing (in Turkish) and negligent injury (in Turkish).

Mandatory Applications Before Filing a Case

• Public hospital: A written application to the relevant administration is mandatory before filing a case (İYUK Art. 13).
• Private hospital (consumer court): In disputes heard by consumer courts, applying to a mediator before filing the case is a precondition for bringing the case; disputes within the jurisdiction of the consumer arbitration committee are outside this requirement (Consumer Protection Law No. 6502, Art. 73/A).

Evidence and Expert Reports in a Malpractice Case

The outcome of a medical malpractice case depends largely on the medical expert report. In most cases the report is obtained from the Council of Forensic Medicine (Adli Tıp Kurumu) or from the relevant departments of university hospitals. For the report to answer the right questions, the file must be prepared completely:

• The complete patient file: admission records, discharge summary, surgical notes, anaesthesia record, nursing observation forms
• Test results and imaging records (blood tests, X-ray, MRI, CT)
• Signed informed consent forms
• Reports of subsequent treatment and second opinions
• Disability report, invoices and income documents

The patient can request a copy of their own medical records from the healthcare institution. Because of the risk of records being altered, it is important to obtain a copy before moving to a complaint or a case. If necessary, the court can also be asked to secure evidence.

Limitation Periods

• Contract-based claims against a private hospital: Ten years, unless the law provides otherwise (TBK Art. 146).
• Tort-based claims: Two years from learning of the damage and the person liable, and in any event ten years from the act; if the act constitutes a crime subject to a longer limitation period, that period (TBK Art. 72).
• Public hospital: Application to the administration within one year of learning of the act and in any event within five years of the date of the act (İYUK Art. 13).

The one-year application period for public hospitals is short and missing it leads to loss of rights. For this reason, it is important to obtain a legal assessment as soon as it is suspected that the harm resulted from a medical error.

Where Is a Medical Malpractice Case Filed in Mersin?

Full remedy actions against public healthcare institutions such as state, city and university hospitals in Mersin are heard by the administrative courts in Mersin. Cases against private hospitals are filed at the consumer court or the civil court of first instance; in cases arising from tort, the court of the place where the damage occurred and the court of the injured party’s domicile also have jurisdiction (Code of Civil Procedure, HMK Art. 16). For incidents at healthcare institutions in districts such as Tarsus, Erdemli, Silifke, Mut and Anamur, the case can also be filed in Mersin or in the relevant district.

For patients and relatives living outside Mersin, meetings can be held online; medical records are pre-examined electronically and the case is followed through UYAP, the national judicial network. This also applies to patients who came to Türkiye for treatment and have since returned to their own country. You can find my work for healthcare institutions and doctors on regulation, contracts and risk management on the healthcare sector page.

Frequently Asked Questions

Get an Assessment If You Suspect a Medical Error

In medical malpractice cases, obtaining the medical records in time and not missing the short application period for public hospitals are decisive. To have your treatment and records assessed, you can contact me through the contact page.