Is there any point in complaining to the hospital or the Medical Association (“Colegio de Médicos”)?

Question

José Manuel Alburquerque · Accepted Answer

It serves to put on record what happened and to ask for an explanation. A complaint to the Medical Association can also lead to a sanction against the doctor, if the doctor failed in their professional duties. But neither gives you compensation or replaces a formal claim. Nor should you rely on them to stop the time limit for claiming. If you want compensation, also submit, within the time limit, a written claim seeking compensation for the harm. A complaint to the hospital or clinic It is lodged with the centre's patient services or citizen services department. In private clinics in Catalonia, the official complaint forms can also be used. It serves to put on record what happened, to obtain an explanation and, sometimes, to open a negotiation. But it is not a claim for compensation, which has these consequences: In private healthcare, a written document only interrupts the time limit if it seeks compensation for the harm. A complaint that merely protests is not enough. In the public health service, a complaint about the care you received is not a claim for compensation based on the “responsabilidad patrimonial” of the public authorities, their liability in damages. Do not rely on it to stop the one year you have to submit that claim. In private healthcare, a written complaint that genuinely proposes an agreement can count as the attempt at negotiation that the law requires before suing. A mere protest cannot. The Medical Association A complaint to the Medical Association, in Catalonia the “Col·legi de Metges”, leads to a review of whether the doctor complied with their professional duties. If not, the association can impose a sanction on the doctor. But it will not award you compensation. Nor should you rely on it to stop the time limit against the doctor or their insurer. It can, however, help you find out which company insures the doctor, something the association usually knows. If you were treated by the public health service, you can also go to the “Síndic de Greuges de Catalunya”, the Catalan ombudsman, or the “Defensor del Pueblo”, the Spanish ombudsman, who oversee the public authorities. They do not award compensation either and it is best not to rely on them to stop the one-year time limit for claiming. What to do Submit the complaint if it helps you, but do not confuse it with the claim. At the same time and within the time limit, send the formal claim: In private healthcare, a written claim for compensation to the doctor, the clinic and their insurers, for example by “burofax”, a certified letter with proof of content. In Catalonia, if there was no contract, the time limit is generally three years, although the prudent course is to claim within the first year. In the public health service, the claim for compensation to the public authorities, which must be made within one year of recovery or of the after-effects stabilising.