Medical malpractice / patient rights: what to do under Georgian law

What to do

1. Classification: harm to health during treatment (surgery, a wrong diagnosis, etc.) is compensated on general grounds, but the clinic is released from liability only if it proves the absence of its own fault (Civil Code of Georgia, Art. 1007). The patient may claim in court compensation for pecuniary and non-pecuniary damage caused by a breach of their rights, an erroneous medical action, or failures of the clinic (Law of Georgia on Patients' Rights (Patients' Rights Law), Art. 10). The patient needs only to prove the harm and its link to treatment; it is for the clinic to rebut fault.
2. Documents first: the patient (a relative, with the patient's consent) may review the records and obtain a copy of any part of them. The request is submitted to the clinic in writing (Patients' Rights Law, Art. 17). The patient has the right to consult another doctor or another clinic for a second opinion without hindrance (Patients' Rights Law, Art. 7). Then an independent (forensic medical) expertise follows.
3. Consent: informed consent is a mandatory condition. Written consent is required for operations (other than minor ones), abortion, chemotherapy and radiotherapy, blood transfusion, and others (Patients' Rights Law, Art. 22). Consent is informed only if the patient was explained the risks to health and life, the alternatives, and the consequences of refusal (Patients' Rights Law, Art. 4). The absence of signed consent is a separate violation.
4. What to claim: treatment costs and lost income. Treatment costs can be claimed in advance (Civil Code of Georgia, Art. 408). For harm to health, compensation for non-pecuniary damage is available (Civil Code of Georgia, Art. 413).
5. In parallel (written complaint): the professional liability of a doctor is decided by the Professional Development Council (Law of Georgia on Medical Activities, Art. 11). Measures include a written warning, and suspension or revocation of the doctor's state certificate (Law on Medical Activities, Art. 74). For grave consequences, a report to law enforcement is possible: a medical worker's failure, without good cause, to render urgent aid to a patient in a life-threatening condition is a crime (Criminal Code of Georgia, Art. 130).
6. Limitation period: 3 years from when the patient learned of the harm or of the person obliged to compensate it (Civil Code of Georgia, Art. 1008).
7. Where to apply: the clinic (claim, request for records), then the district (city) court.
8. Evidence: copies of the medical record and extracts; consents; receipts and prescriptions; the conclusion of an independent expertise; correspondence with the clinic; witnesses.
9. Pitfalls: not requesting the medical record right away, because entries may be supplemented later; filing a lawsuit without expertise, since the link between the harm and the treatment is then unproven; a complaint against the doctor does not recover money, because a lawsuit is needed for that.

Be sure to check

• the burden of proving the absence of fault lies on the clinic
• obtaining a copy of the medical record, and expertise
• what can be recovered: treatment costs, lost income, non-pecuniary damage
• where to apply (court, Professional Development Council) and the limitation period