If you received treatment in Italy, you can report the problem directly to your healthcare provider. If you were treated in a public healthcare facility, you can file your complaint directly with the facility’s Public Relations Office (URP).
You can contact the URP of the public health facility to find out how to file a complaint and consult the Health Service Charter that each public health facility is required to have.
In any case, you can contact the Italian National Contact Point, which will provide you with information about your rights.
If you are registered with the Italian National Health Service and received treatment in another EU country, you can contact the Contact Point of the country of treatment where the problem occurred or the Italian National Contact Point to obtain information on your rights.
The legal regime relating to the liability for damages caused by medical treatment follows, as a rule, the rules in force in the country where the treatment was provided. We therefore recommend that you contact the National Contact Point of the country of treatment, also through the Italian National Contact Point, which can provide you with information on your rights and on administrative and civil and criminal court remedies available in that country.
The right to compensation for harm resulting from health treatments, which in Italy is mainly governed by Law 24 of 8 March 2017, arises if, as a result of incorrectly performed treatment, the patient suffers an injury to his/her physical and mental integrity or dies, provided that the liability of the health professional and/or of the health facility where the patient was treated is proven.
Before lodging a court action for damages with the competent local civil court, it is first mandatory to attempt an alternative, out-of-court dispute resolution procedure (mediation). This procedure is managed by a public or private mediation body, entered in the register kept by the Ministry of Justice, in accordance with Article 5 of Legislative Decree 20 of 4 March 2010.
Compensation for medical injuries may also be awarded through a criminal action, where the treatment resulted in the commission of a specific offence.
You should contact the Italian National Contact Point, which will provide you with specific information on your rights and on the out-of-court and administrative, civil and criminal procedures available for redress.
You can always apply to the Italian judicial authority, both civil and criminal.
Data di ultimo aggiornamento: 22 ottobre 2019
