The obligation to prove the prerequisites for the Hospital’s liability rests on the patient – favourable judgment of the Poznań Court

On 16 December 2020, a nearly 3-year-long trial for payment of compensation for non-material damage brought by a patient against one of Poznań hospitals ended.

The District Court for Poznań – Nowe Miasto and Wilda in Poznań issued a judgment dismissing the patient’s action due to failure to prove the claim. In the grounds for the judgment, the Court of First Instance rightly pointed out that the plaintiff, when demanding compensation from the defendant Hospital, according to the distribution of the burden of proof under Article 6 of the Civil Code, should prove that all prerequisites for allowing the claim have been met. In the Court’s view, it is the patient who should prove that the Hospital acted culpably, resulting in material or non-material damage.

The above confirms the position presented by the Law Firm that in the so-called “medical lawsuits” it is the patients who file claims against doctors or medical entities that should present evidence showing that the treatment provided does not correspond to the principles of the current medical knowledge and was not carried out with due diligence.

In the case at hand, the plaintiff failed to meet the above, and the medical opinion issued by the court expert confirmed that the treatment of the patient had been correct.

The case was conducted by attoney-at-law Magdalena Cieślińska-Dopierała and attorney-at-law Paulina Kozłowska, from the Department of Medical Law and Services for Healthcare Providers, as part of the comprehensive legal services provided by the Law Firm to the Poznań Hospital.