Health Law

Health law concerns both patients and healthcare providers. On one side are the rights of patients harmed during treatment; on the other, the extensive rules physicians and healthcare institutions must follow. For both, a document-based assessment of what happened is essential.

Medical malpractice

Medical malpractice occurs when a patient is harmed because care did not meet the diligence and standards required by medical science. An unfavourable outcome is not in itself malpractice; whether an error occurred is usually established through expert examination.

Which court?

Compensation claims arising from treatment in private healthcare institutions are brought before the civil courts, while claims arising from treatment in public hospitals are brought against the administration as full remedy actions before the administrative courts. Identifying the correct jurisdiction and defendant directly affects the outcome.

Patient rights and informed consent

Patients have the right to information about their health, to refuse treatment and to privacy. Obtaining the patient's informed consent before a medical intervention is both a patient right and a key element in assessing the physician's liability.

Compliance for healthcare providers

Opening, licensing and operating private hospitals, medical centres and practices are subject to detailed administrative regulation. Administrative sanctions imposed after inspections can be challenged before the administrative courts. Healthcare professionals may also need legal support in disciplinary and criminal investigations.

Health data

Personal Data Protection Law No. 6698 treats health data as a special category of personal data and subjects its processing to strict conditions. Healthcare providers must align their data processing with this law.

Medical tourism

Institutions treating patients who travel to Türkiye for care are subject to authorisation and information obligations under the regulation on international health tourism. In disputes involving foreign patients, the applicability of Turkish law and the jurisdiction of Turkish courts are assessed separately.

Preparing for a consultation

For malpractice claims, prepare the discharge summary, test and imaging results, surgery and consent forms, prescriptions, invoices and any correspondence about the treatment. A copy of the patient file can be requested from the healthcare institution. For healthcare providers, licences, inspection reports and sanction decisions form the basis of the assessment.