Can you claim for an infection caught in hospital?

Question

José Manuel Alburquerque · Accepted Answer

Yes, especially when the infection is due to the hospital or clinic failing to take all the hygiene and prevention measures. In practice, it is the hospital or clinic that has to prove that it took them, because it holds the records. Every operation or hospital admission carries a risk of infection that cannot be eliminated entirely. That is why, in the public health service, if the hospital proves that it did what it should and that the infection could not have been avoided, it may not be liable. With private clinics, the courts have applied consumer protection law to these infections, which makes the clinic liable for failings in how it operates without any need to prove fault. When the hospital or clinic is liable In a private clinic, the centre is liable for failings in its organisation, including infections caused by a lack of hygiene or prevention. You can claim against the clinic and its insurer. Under consumer protection law you do not have to prove that any particular person was at fault, but you do have to prove that you were infected there and that the infection caused you harm. In the public health service, the courts regard infection as a known risk of medical care. If the hospital proves that it applied all the measures to keep germs out and to prevent infection, it may not be liable. If it does not prove this, or the infection was avoidable, the public authorities are liable. In both cases, the risk of infection must appear in the information you were given before the operation. If it was not explained to you, that may be another ground for a claim. The evidence worth requesting The complete medical records, including the nursing and operating theatre records. The cultures and tests that identified the germ, with their dates, which help to show that the infection was not present before admission. The record of antibiotic prophylaxis, which is the antibiotic given before an operation to prevent infection. The hygiene and infection prevention protocols of the hospital or clinic. The signed consent form, to see whether you were informed of that risk. With all of this, a medical expert can assess whether the proper measures were followed and whether the infection could have been avoided. Time limit and making a claim The time limit starts to run when the infection is cured or when the after-effects it leaves are known. If you were treated at the expense of the public health service, you have one year to make a claim based on the “responsabilidad patrimonial” of the public authorities, which is the claim made against them for harm caused by their services. In private healthcare, the shortest time limit that may apply is three years if the events took place in Catalonia and one year outside Catalonia, although the prudent course is to make a written claim within the first year. Before suing the clinic or its insurer, you must try to reach an agreement, as the law has required since 2025.