Malpractice Lawyer in Istanbul and Medical Law
Compensation for harm caused by misdiagnosis and wrong treatment, surgery, childbirth, cosmetic and dental procedures; applications to the administration, mediation and follow-up of criminal investigations.
Two questions decide everything in a malpractice file: is the outcome a complication accepted by medicine, or negligence that breaches the duty of care? And did the harm occur at a private healthcare provider or at a public hospital? The first determines the merits of the case; the second determines which authority to apply to and within what time. If no application is made to the administration within 1 year of learning of an error at a state hospital, a well-founded claim can be lost without its merits ever being examined.
On this page you will find the route to follow for private and public hospitals, limitation periods, how cosmetic and dental procedures differ, the criminal complaint and investigation permission process, what applications to the patient rights unit and CİMER achieve, the Forensic Medicine and court expert stage, 2026 costs and answers to frequently asked questions.
Complication or malpractice?
Not every unwanted outcome gives rise to legal liability. A complication is an outcome anticipated by medical science that can occur even when due care is taken. Malpractice, by contrast, is a departure from standard medical practice: failing to carry out a necessary test, overlooking findings, operating on the wrong side or organ, leaving a foreign object in the body, the wrong drug or dose, failure to follow hygiene rules, neglecting post-operative follow-up, and the like.
In practice three elements are decisive: the content and time of signature of the informed consent, the completeness of the investigations before the intervention, and how quickly and in what way the complication was dealt with once it appeared. Even a foreseeable complication can give rise to liability if it was noticed late or managed wrongly. For the general framework of this distinction, see our guide to damages actions for medical error.
Private hospital or state hospital? Authority and time limits
The institution where the harm occurred changes the route from the outset. A case filed in the wrong branch of the judiciary is dismissed for lack of jurisdiction, and the years lost in the meantime often cannot be recovered.
| Where the service was received | Against whom and where | Pre-action requirement | Time limit |
|---|---|---|---|
| Private hospital, medical centre, polyclinic | The hospital operator and the doctor together; consumer court (tüketici mahkemesi) | Mediation is mandatory before filing (Law No. 6502, art. 73/A) | 5 years for a mandate relationship (Turkish Code of Obligations, TBK art. 147/5); 2 years / 10 years in tort; a longer criminal limitation period if the act is an offence |
| Private practice (self-employed doctor or dentist) | The doctor; consumer court | Mediation mandatory | Same as a private hospital |
| State hospital, training and research hospital, city hospital, family health centre | Not the doctor but the administration; a full remedy action (tam yargı davası) in the administrative court (idare mahkemesi) | First a written application to the relevant administration (Administrative Procedure Law, İYUK art. 13) | Application within 1 year of learning, and in any event within 5 years of the act; action within 60 days after refusal or 30 days without a reply |
| State university hospital | The university (rector’s office); administrative court | First a written application to the university | Same as a state hospital |
At private healthcare providers the patient is a consumer receiving a service for a fee; because the Consumer Protection Law also treats mandate contracts and contracts for work as consumer transactions, in settled practice the competent court is the consumer court. The case can also be filed where the consumer lives. If the amount claimed is below 186,000 TL for 2026, the consumer arbitration committee (tüketici hakem heyeti) has jurisdiction; however, malpractice claims involving bodily harm usually exceed this limit, and the route is an action after mediation. If no agreement is reached in consumer mediation, the consumer’s share of the mediation fee is covered, within the statutory limit, from the budget of the Ministry of Justice.
At public hospitals the doctor is a public official and, under the Constitution, cannot be sued directly for harm arising from their duties; liability lies with the administration on the basis of service fault (hizmet kusuru). In the application to the administration, the amounts of pecuniary and non-pecuniary damages must be stated separately. If the administration does not reply within 30 days, the claim is deemed rejected and the 60-day period for filing an action starts to run. The competent administrative court is, as a rule, the administrative court of the place where the service was provided, that is, where the hospital is located. If, after a case filed in the ordinary courts is dismissed for lack of jurisdiction, the claimant goes to the administrative court, no separate application to the administration is required (İYUK art. 13/2). For administrative proceedings, see also our administrative law page.
Limitation: which period, and when does it start?
In malpractice there is no single answer to the question of time limits; it depends on the legal basis of the claim. That is why we always recommend acting on the basis of the shortest possible period.
- Breach of contract (private doctor and hospital): The doctor–patient relationship is, as a rule, a mandate (vekâlet), and the Code of Obligations provides a 5-year limitation period for claims arising from a mandate contract (TBK art. 147/5). Some argue that the general 10-year period should apply to the patient admission contract concluded with a hospital; however, the case should be planned on the basis of 5 years.
- Tort: 2 years from learning of the harm and the person responsible, and in any event 10 years from the act (TBK art. 72).
- If the act is also an offence: The longer prosecution limitation period under criminal law also applies to the damages action. For negligent injury this period is 8 years, for negligent homicide 15 years (Turkish Criminal Code, TCK art. 66). This rule does not extend the İYUK art. 13 time limits in the administrative court.
- Public hospital: Application to the administration within 1 year of learning, and in any event within 5 years. The one-year period is accepted as starting from the date on which the harm and the administration’s liability became known; the date of the report establishing permanent damage is therefore important.
- Cosmetic and prosthetic procedures: For claims treated as a contract for work or a defective service, short 2-year periods may apply (TBK art. 478; Law No. 6502, art. 16); in the event of gross fault these periods are longer.
For a preliminary check of the time limits you can use the time limit and limitation checker; the exact calculation must be made after reviewing the treatment dates and reports.
Route of action by type of error
| Procedure | Legal characterisation | Key issue in the file |
|---|---|---|
| Wrong or delayed diagnosis | Breach of the duty of care (mandate) | Which test should have been done and when; timing of referral |
| Surgical error | Breach of the duty of care; the act may also be an offence | Operation note, anaesthesia form, post-operative observation records |
| Childbirth and gynaecology | Breach of the duty of care | Monitoring of labour, NST records, timing of the caesarean decision |
| Cosmetic surgery | For a non-therapeutic intervention, the contract-for-work approach and an undertaking as to the result | The result promised, advertising and correspondence, photographs, scope of consent |
| Dental error (implant, prosthesis, root canal) | Contract for work for prostheses and implants; mandate for treatment | Panoramic X-rays and CT scans, materials used, findings of the subsequent dentist |
| Lack of informed consent | Unlawful intervention | Whether the risk was explained specifically for the procedure and in understandable terms |
| Hospital infection, organisational failure | Organisational fault of the institution | Infection control records, adequacy of staff and equipment |
The contract-for-work approach in cosmetic surgery and dental errors
In interventions made for treatment, the doctor owes not a specific result but due care; failure to achieve recovery is not in itself negligence. In cosmetic operations with no therapeutic purpose, however, the practice of the Court of Cassation (Yargıtay) tends to treat the contract as a contract for work (eser sözleşmesi) and to hold that the doctor is liable for the result promised. In that case, once the patient shows that the result departs from what was promised, it becomes harder for the doctor to escape liability. The duty to inform is also interpreted more strictly in cosmetic procedures: since there is no medical necessity, even low-probability risks must be explained.
In dentistry, implant, bridge and prosthesis work is often regarded as a contract for work, whereas root canal treatment, extraction and gum treatment are assessed under the duty of care. The mistake made most often in these files is having the problematic work removed or redone by another dentist without it being recorded. Documenting the existing condition with X-rays, CT scans and photographs before corrective work and, where necessary, applying to the court for preservation of evidence (delil tespiti) protects the proof. For general information on consumer disputes, see our consumer law page.
Burden of proof and informed consent
The patient must establish the harm and its link to the medical intervention; but fault is largely established through the medical records and the court expert’s examination. Records kept by the doctor and the hospital that are incomplete, contradictory or altered after the fact can turn the burden of proof against them.
The burden of proving that informed consent was properly obtained lies, in settled practice, with the doctor and the healthcare provider. The consent must set out in understandable terms the nature of the procedure, its chance of success, the risks specific to it, alternative treatments and the consequences of not having the procedure, and the patient must be given reasonable time to think. A pre-printed form full of general wording signed on the way to the operating table is not sufficient on its own. Separate rules on consent apply to emergency and unconscious patients, minors and persons under guardianship.
Criminal complaint for medical error and investigation permission
A medical practice error can constitute the offence of negligent injury (TCK art. 89) or negligent homicide (TCK art. 85). The penalty for negligent homicide is imprisonment from 2 to 6 years. The basic penalty for negligent injury was raised by the amendment of 24 December 2025 to imprisonment of 4 months to 2 years or a judicial fine; the penalty is increased for permanent harm. Negligent injury is, as a rule, prosecuted only on complaint, and the complaint must be made within 6 months of learning of the act and the offender (TCK art. 73); no complaint is required for serious injury caused by conscious negligence.
An important procedural rule: since 2022, the investigation of doctors, dentists and other health professionals working at public or private healthcare providers in connection with examination, diagnosis and treatment is subject to investigation permission. Permission is granted by the Professional Liability Board (Mesleki Sorumluluk Kurulu) within the Ministry of Health; doctors at private hospitals are also covered (Law No. 3359, additional art. 18). Academic staff subject to the investigation procedure under the Higher Education Law are outside this scope. The complainant can object to a decision refusing permission before the Ankara Regional Administrative Court within 10 days of service of the decision.
The Forensic Medicine report obtained in the criminal investigation is also important evidence in the damages file; the two routes are therefore usually assessed together. However, the assessment of fault in the criminal file does not bind the civil judge, and waiting for the outcome of the criminal investigation does not stop the time limits for damages. For how the criminal complaint process works in general, see our criminal law page.
What do applications to the patient rights unit, SABİM and CİMER achieve?
Applying to the patient rights unit present in every hospital and to the patient rights committee of the provincial health directorate can bring quick results for problems such as being kept waiting, not being given information, records not being handed over, or disrespectful treatment. The committee decides on the application within 30 days. However, the Patient Rights Regulation expressly states that allegations of medical error will not be assessed by the committee.
Complaints made to the Ministry of Health through the Alo 184 SABİM line or via CİMER (the Presidential Communication Centre) can also trigger an administrative inquiry or disciplinary proceedings. These applications do not replace a damages action, an application to the administration under İYUK art. 13, mediation or a complaint to the prosecutor, and as a rule they do not stop those time limits. If these routes are used, the time limits for pursuing your rights must be tracked separately.
The Council of Forensic Medicine and the court expert report process
- Collecting the records: The court requests the entire patient file, imaging records and consent documents from the hospitals. An incomplete file means an incomplete report.
- Referral to a panel: The file is sent to the relevant specialist board of the Council of Forensic Medicine (Adli Tıp Kurumu) or to a panel of court experts made up of the relevant specialists at university hospitals. It is important that the panel includes a specialist from the branch in which the procedure was performed.
- Report on fault and causation: The report explains whether the medical standard was met, whether the harm resulted from the procedure and, if so, the degree of fault.
- Objection: An objection to the report must be made within 2 weeks of its service (Code of Civil Procedure, HMK art. 281). If reports contradict each other, a new panel report is requested to resolve the contradiction.
- Disability and calculation: Once fault is determined, the permanent disability rate and an actuarial calculation establish the amount of pecuniary damages; non-pecuniary damages are set by the judge.
Because of these stages, malpractice cases in Istanbul generally take 2–4 years; additional reports or an appeal to the regional court extend this. Obtaining an independent specialist opinion before the case helps both in deciding whether to file and in strengthening the content of any objection to the report.
Compulsory professional liability insurance
Doctors and dentists working at private healthcare providers or self-employed must take out compulsory professional financial liability insurance for harm they may cause through medical malpractice; there is also an insurance obligation for public-sector doctors against recourse claims by their institutions (Law No. 1219, additional art. 12). The insurance makes it easier to collect compensation; however, cover amounts are limited, and harm exceeding that limit can still be claimed from the doctor and the hospital. In public hospital files the administration pays the compensation; whether the administration will seek recourse against the doctor is decided by the Professional Liability Board, and this does not affect the patient’s claim.
Compensation that can be claimed in a malpractice case
- Costs of treatment, medication, corrective surgery and transport
- Loss of earnings during temporary incapacity for work
- Loss of earning capacity and impairment of economic future in the case of permanent disability
- Carer costs where permanent care is needed
- Refund or reduction of the fee paid for cosmetic and prosthetic work
- Non-pecuniary damages for the patient and, in cases of serious bodily harm, for their relatives
- In the event of death, compensation for loss of support, funeral costs and non-pecuniary damages for the relatives
The explanations on our compensation law page about the calculation method and the effect of the degree of fault on the amount also apply to malpractice files.
Court costs and attorney fees (2026)
| Item | 2026 amount / explanation |
|---|---|
| Consumer court (private hospital) | A case filed by a consumer is exempt from court fees (Law No. 6502, art. 73/2); an advance on costs is paid for service and court experts |
| Filing fee (for cases subject to fees) | 732.00 TL |
| Proportional judgment fee | 68.31 per thousand of the amount claimed; one quarter is paid in advance when the case is filed. If the amount cannot be known before the report, a partial action can be filed and the claim increased once within the same case (HMK art. 109/4); the action for an unquantified claim (belirsiz alacak davası) was abolished on 31 July 2026. |
| Consumer mediation fee | If no agreement is reached, the consumer’s share is covered, within the statutory limit, from the budget of the Ministry of Justice |
| Court expert and Forensic Medicine costs | Vary by file; separate advances may be requested for the panel report, additional report and disability examination |
| Administrative court (public hospital) | In a full remedy action too, the filing fee and a proportional fee on the amount claimed are paid |
The exemption from fees applies only to cases filed in the consumer court; fees are paid in a full remedy action filed in the administrative court against a public hospital. If the case is won, the fees and litigation costs are recovered from the other side. The attorney fee is set in writing at the first meeting, taking into account the length of the file and the report stages; if a success-based fee is agreed, the rate cannot exceed 25% of the value of the case (Attorneys Act, Av.K. art. 164), and the fee cannot be lower than the Minimum Attorney Fee Tariff.
Documents needed for the file
- The entire patient file: discharge summary, outpatient and ward notes, operation and anaesthesia notes, nursing observation forms, consultation records
- Imaging and tests: X-ray, CT and MRI records (the images themselves, not just the reports)
- Consent documents and any information leaflets
- For cosmetic and dental work, the price quote, correspondence, advertisements or social media posts, and before and after photographs
- Reports showing subsequent treatment and second opinions, invoices and payment documents
- Proof of income (payslips, social security (SGK) statement) and any disability report
- In the event of death, the death certificate, autopsy report and certificate of inheritance
Patients have the right to inspect their own health records and obtain copies; the records should be requested from the hospital by written petition, and the records in e-Nabız should also be downloaded separately.
Our work in medical law
- Mediation and consumer court cases against private hospitals, medical centres and private practices
- Applications to the administration and full remedy actions in the administrative court concerning state and university hospitals
- Disputes arising from cosmetic surgery, hair transplants and dental (implant, prosthesis) procedures
- Files involving harm to or death of the mother or baby during childbirth
- Criminal complaints for medical error, objections to decisions on investigation permission and representation of the victim as intervening party in the criminal file
- Objections to Forensic Medicine and court expert reports, and requests for preservation of evidence
- Access to health records and unlawful disclosure of health data
The information on this page is general in nature and has been prepared on the basis of the legislation in force in 2026. In malpractice files the time limits and the competent authority vary according to the institution where the service was received and the legal basis of the claim; no definitive assessment can be made without examining the medical records. You are advised to consult a lawyer about your specific situation.
