Important decision
The Supreme Court has ruled on who bears the burden of proof in medical disputes regarding the causal link between a healthcare facility’s negligence and the patient’s injury. The decision, case no. 25 Cdo 1330/2025, may strengthen the procedural position of patients seeking compensation for personal injury.
The case involved a patient who underwent lower limb amputation following a serious injury and subsequent surgery. According to the courts, it was proven that the healthcare facility had committed a error in postoperative care and that this error was capable of causing harm to the patient’s health. The dispute centered on whether the amputation was caused specifically by this negligence or whether the same outcome would have occurred due to the previous injury. The appellate court dismissed the lawsuit, ruling that the patient had not sufficiently proven a causal link. However, the Supreme Court overturned this conclusion and remanded the case for further proceedings.
According to the Supreme Court, each party must prove the facts from which it derives favorable legal consequences for itself. Therefore, if a patient proves bodily injury and, at the same time, a mistake by the healthcare provider capable of causing such injury, the healthcare facility cannot simply argue in general terms that the outcome could have been caused by other circumstances. If it claims that the same harm would have occurred even with proper care, it must prove this itself. The decision does not imply automatic liability on the part of hospitals for every adverse health outcome, but it clarifies who bears the burden of proof in a situation where the healthcare provider’s negligence has already been proven.
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