Complaint against a doctor in 2022: how to file a complaint, where to complain

When health problems arise, we all turn to doctors. However, unfortunately, it is not uncommon for a doctor’s negligence to lead to the death of a patient. And here, in addition to the grief of loved ones, the question arises of holding the doctor himself accountable.

When a doctor’s mistake leads to the death of a patient, it is immediately important for relatives to take the first steps in order to seek compensation for material and moral damage.

In particular, before contacting law enforcement agencies or the court, it is necessary to initiate a series of examinations to determine the actual cause of death of the patient.

Reasons for complaining about a doctor

To file a complaint against the actions of a doctor, a hospital patient, regardless of whether it is a city clinic or a private one, must prove the grounds for such a procedural action.

The following circumstances are considered the main reasons for filing a complaint against employees of medical institutions:

failure to provide medical care to a patient in a timely manner;
physician error in determining the diagnosis;
refusal of a health worker to provide assistance to a patient;
negligent actions on the part of an employee of a medical institution;
error in prescribing medications;
deterioration of the patient’s condition after following the doctor’s recommendations;
medical error during surgery;
unreasonable expenses for medications that were not necessary;
inappropriate behavior of the doctor, rude attitude, carelessness.

When the above circumstances are identified, the patient has the opportunity to exercise his constitutional right to appeal to higher authorities to protect his own interests.

Note! If a patient has recorded a violation of sanitary standards and hygiene, this may also serve as grounds for filing a complaint against a specific doctor.

Legislative framework

Proper care from medical professionals is not only the wish of the patient, but also a requirement of law and other regulations.

In carrying out their activities, doctors must be guided by:

Federal Law No. 323-FZ of November 21, 2011 “On the fundamentals of protecting the health of citizens in the Russian Federation,” which contains the main responsibilities of medical workers;
Code of Professional Ethics for Physicians of the Russian Federation – establishes certain rules of behavior and work with patients for doctors;
Federal Law No. 326-FZ of November 29, 2010 “On Compulsory Medical Insurance in the Russian Federation” regulates the list of medical services provided to citizens free of charge;
Order of the Ministry of Health and Social Development of Russia dated May 15, 2012 No. 543n “On approval of the Regulations on the organization of provision of primary health care to the adult population” regulates the activities of clinics and other medical organizations providing outpatient services, i.e. without placing the patient in a hospital.

Responsibility of a doctor for committing unlawful acts

After identifying violations on the part of doctors, patients do not understand what will happen if they complain about the actions of a doctor in the clinic.

The legislator provides several types of liability for doctors, taking into account the nature of the violations:

disciplinary;
civil law;
administrative;
criminal

Moreover, each type of liability may provide for both restrictions on the doctor and his activities, as well as specific encumbrances, up to and including termination of work.

For example, if a doctor makes an incorrect diagnosis, the patient can sue for moral and material damage under Art. 1064 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, since such a violation can lead to both mental suffering of a person and serious, unnecessary costs for medications.

Another example is the measure of criminal liability for causing harm to a patient through negligence, which involves several types of sanctions: forced labor, imprisonment for up to four years, as well as deprivation of medical practice for a period of up to three years.

Poor quality of medical services

Inadequate medical care that leads to harm to health or does not bring any beneficial effect at all will entail sanctions from the law.

A claim procedure for resolving the conflict has been established. The victim will be required to file a claim. There are certain rules for a written act.

Sample complaint

The document has the following structure:

a cap;
main section;
final provisions.

The header is the introductory part of the text, which contains the details of the parties to the agreement. The applicant indicates his personal data and information about the institution where the treatment was carried out. You can separately name a doctor, but filling out information about the specialist is not necessary.

Important! As a general rule, the organization, not the doctor, will be responsible for the quality of services. A specific person will be punished only in cases where there are grounds for criminal liability (for example, manslaughter).

The main part is a detailed statement of the circumstances of the case. The applicant indicates the events in chronological order and specific violations that were identified. Examples: unsterilized instruments were used during a medical examination, the doctor neglected the procedure for treatment, administered the wrong medications, and other circumstances.

The final provisions contain the date and signature of the applicant. Separately, the text contains attachments: confirmation of violations and the ability to make claims.

The applications are:

checks (prove payment);
compulsory medical insurance policy;
contract (confirms the fact of service);
x-rays, prescriptions, diagnostic results and other evidence of the disorder.

The more arguments there are, the more effective the proceedings will be. It is advisable to keep all receipts. The medical record stands apart: the document can become the cornerstone of the prosecution, since it contains basic information about the treatment and diagnosis of diseases.

If there are doubts about the legality of the activities of a particular organization, then the issue of a license can be raised. Medical institutions can provide treatment and prevention only if they have a specialized document - permission from the state.

Claims

The style of presenting the claim is businesslike, no emotions or artistic expressions, swearing, or obscene expressions. A citizen can put forward in a document the demands provided for in Article 29 of the PZPP, from the free elimination of defects to a reduction in the price of treatment.

Important! If the client asks for a refund, then do not forget about the penalty. The medical institution is not exempt from fines, even if it compensated the patient for the due losses. You can claim the return of penalties according to the law.

Where can you complain about a doctor?

When determining how to complain about the actions of a doctor in a clinic, you need to know exactly to which higher authority such a complaint is being filed.

Note! When filing complaints against the actions of doctors, one should not distinguish between doctors in clinics and hospitals. Regardless of this factor, the appeal is submitted to the appropriate and uniform authority for all.

The management of a medical institution is the first authority where you can complain. Depending on which of the health workers committed the violations, the complaint can be submitted to the head of the department, or directly to the hospital management - the chief physician. The complaint must receive a written response.

Regulations and legal acts

When drawing up a document, you need to study:

Art. 41 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation;
Art. 70 Federal Law of the Russian Federation No. 323-ФЗ dated November 21, 2011, which describes the responsibilities of the doctor involved in treatment.
Federal Law of the Russian Federation No. 326 of November 23, 2010, which can familiarize the applicant with the rules of compulsory health insurance.
Art. 118, 236, 237 and 293 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, containing possible methods of punishment for responsible persons who have committed a crime related to causing harm to the patient’s health.

A complaint against the clinic is drawn up and considered for compliance with Order of the Ministry of Health No. 493n, approved on June 28, 2015. From this document, the applicant will learn about the methods of filing a claim, the procedure for working with it, which will save time and money.

How to properly file a complaint against a healthcare worker

According to Art. 7 of the Federal Law “On the procedure for considering appeals from citizens of the Russian Federation”, the complaint is drawn up in free form. There is no sample complaint form for the actions of a doctor.

By virtue of this law, the only thing that is necessary is to comply with the structure of the complaint:

Header or introduction. Here you must indicate the name and address of the body to which the complaint is filed, as well as information about the applicant: full name, address, contacts.
Document's name.
Main part. This must include the circumstances under which the violation was committed, refer to evidence confirming the grounds for the appeal, and the rules of law justifying the applicant’s position. It is imperative to specify which of the doctors committed the offense, at what time and why.
Conclusion. In this part, you need to indicate the requirement, namely, indicate what the higher authority must do: apply liability measures, compensate for material damage, and so on.

The written appeal ends with the patient’s personal signature and the date of the complaint. It is possible to attract a representative by proxy.

Sample complaint about rudeness of a doctor

What is medical negligence

A clear definition of the concept of “negligence” is contained in Article 293 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. The same article also establishes the liability to which a person who has shown negligence may be held.

Based on the norms enshrined in the above article of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, negligence is understood as non-fulfillment, as well as improper fulfillment, by an official of his direct duties due to dishonest attitude towards service or work.

We especially note that in order to qualify negligence, it is necessary that the victim suffers large or especially large damage. Major damage means damage the amount of which exceeds 1,500,000 rubles, and especially large damage – exceeds 7,000,000 rubles.

Negligence of a medical worker is understood as complete inaction, as well as actions the level of which does not correspond to the professional level of this employee in the performance of his official duties, if these actions caused harm to the life and health of the patient.

Filing a complaint with the chief physician

You can complain to the head doctor of the hospital about the actions of employees either orally or in writing. It is necessary to remember about the correctness of handling. You cannot swear, use obscene language, or insult the staff who committed the violation. In this case, the head physician is obliged to accept a person with a complaint and consider the appeal, giving a reasoned answer, regardless of whether the application is refused or not.

Note! If the chief doctor refused to take action and decided that the circumstances presented by the patient did not contain any violations, then you can also complain directly to the hospital management in the same manner.

Also, when contacting the head physician, you need to remember that the nature of the violations on the part of the doctor or hospital management may affect the outcome of the dispute. When it comes to bribes, extortion, threats, you should immediately write a statement to the police or prosecutor’s office.

Arbitrage practice

Judicial practice shows that the judge takes the side of the plaintiff if sufficient evidence is provided that the medical worker committed negligence, as a result of which the patient suffered. The amount of moral or material compensation is calculated based on the actual damage caused.

Thus, in 2008, the Kalininsky District Court of Novosibirsk ordered medical workers to pay 2 million rubles to a patient who suffered from medical negligence. Due to errors in the prescription, a 35-year-old girl had her leg amputated. As a result, she not only spent large sums on treatment, but was also able to work and, together with her minor daughter, remained below the poverty line. The court took into account all the circumstances of the case and then decided to pay compensation in full. In 2022, a 10-year-old child was admitted to the Ingush Republican Hospital with a diagnosis of ARVI and stomatitis, cerebral palsy. In the emergency department, the girl was seen by an infectious disease doctor who prescribed an incomplete examination and symptomatic treatment. A day later, the child’s condition worsened, she fell into a coma and died. She was posthumously diagnosed with diabetes mellitus.

The girl's parents filed a lawsuit alleging negligence of a medical result that caused harm to health, resulting in death. The court took into account all the circumstances of the case, including the fact that the doctor did not prescribe a biochemical blood test, which would have made it possible to make a correct diagnosis in a timely manner and prescribe timely treatment. The inaction of an infectious disease doctor was considered in accordance with Part 1 of Art. 293 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.

Which authorities should I contact if the head physician did not help?

There are several options for higher authorities to which a complaint against a doctor can be sent if the hospital management was unable to solve the problem.

Complaints about the actions of doctors are accepted in the following authorities:

Ministry of Health care. Each region has a department of the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation. This is necessary both for supervising the activities of medical institutions and for considering citizens’ appeals. To submit a letter to the department of the Ministry of Health, a sample of which is also provided upon application, all you need to do is visit the reception desk and register a complaint. After this, an inspection will be carried out at the specified hospital, and if these violations are confirmed, penalties will be applied. In addition, the complaint can be sent by email or registered mail. The response will also be received in writing after thirty days.
Insurance Company. This option is relevant in cases where harm has been caused to health. It is enough to write an application to the insurance company, which will be able to compensate for material damage, as well as establish the doctor’s competence and prove his guilt, which in the future will help to hold the specialist accountable.
Prosecutor's Office of the Russian Federation. The right to contact the prosecutor’s office is enshrined in the Constitution of the Russian Federation, as well as the Federal Law “On the Prosecutor’s Office of the Russian Federation.” This authority is obliged to consider complaints from citizens, including against the actions of doctors, especially when it comes to harm or threat of harm to the health and life of people. The principle of filing a complaint does not differ from appeals to the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation.
Judicial authorities. Protection of rights by going to court is also a constitutional right of a citizen. In the case of doctors, a statement of claim can help recover material and moral damage, that is, bring the doctor or other employee of the medical institution to civil liability.
Police authorities. Here it is necessary to remember that the statement by the police officer will be accepted only if the violation on the part of the doctor caused harm to the health and life of the citizen, or there was a threat of such harm. The police will also be able to help if the doctor commits an administrative offense.

Ways to file a complaint against a doctor to the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation

Since appealing to the head physician in some cases does not produce results, the following authority is used to resolve the dispute, which in practice is recognized as the most effective - the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation.

Sample letter to the Ministry of Health

To understand how you can write a complaint to the Department of Health, it is enough to refer to the general rules for filing appeals to government agencies. However, in addition to the rules for filing a complaint, there are ways to submit it:

Sending the application by registered mail.
Using email, that is, drawing up a complaint on a PC and transmitting it via the Internet.
Fill out the form on the official website of the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation in the section “Form for citizens’ applications.”
Personal appeal to the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation by making an appointment. In this way, you can submit both a written and oral complaint.
Using the ministry's hotline. There are also multi-channel telephones for contact, which are available to citizens on the department’s website.

Note! Regardless of the form and method in which the complaint was filed, a response to it must be sent within thirty days from the date of registration of the complaint.

Contacting an insurance company

If the patient has a compulsory medical insurance policy (compulsory health insurance), then the insurance company that issued this document has the right to monitor the work of medical institutions and receive complaints from citizens.

Insurance companies will be able to help only under certain circumstances, which include:

refusal to provide assistance to a patient;
coercion to undergo paid treatment;
violation of the right to free medical care, refusal to make an appointment for a free appointment;
inappropriate treatment, poor quality care.

To report these facts, all you have to do is call the insurance company and outline the essence of the problem.

This authority is also obliged to react and take measures, and after that give a written response to the citizen. In addition, the insurance company is obliged to resolve the issue of compensation for losses and report violations to the relevant authorities.

Appeal to the Prosecutor's Office of the Russian Federation

The prosecutor's office is the authority that is responsible for observing the constitutional rights of citizens, and accordingly, is obliged to conduct checks on all cases of citizens filing complaints.

Note! A complaint to the prosecutor's office cannot be submitted anonymously, and the methods of submitting a document are limited to personal transfer of documents and the Internet.

Personal reception at the prosecutor's office requires special days for this. If this option is not suitable, then you can use the Internet. It is possible to send an application by e-mail, or through a special form on the official website of the department.

The verification of the presented circumstances is carried out within thirty days. As a result, the following decision may be made:

transfer documents to the judicial authority for further proceedings;
direct a protest against the actions of officials;
issuing and sending a report to a medical institution about the fact of identified violations and their elimination.

Despite the limited period for consideration of the appeal, due to the workload of the prosecutor's office, a response can only be received after several months.

Complaint to the police

An application to the internal affairs bodies is submitted only if there is harm to the patient’s health, or when the doctor’s actions fall under another article of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.

The police will be able to help in case of problems with medical facilities in the following circumstances:

causing damage to the health of a citizen;
the death of a person as a result of the actions of a doctor;
establishing the fact of extortion of money, threats and blackmail;
the patient's reputation was threatened due to insults and humiliation.

Also, if the actions of doctors are qualified as an administrative offense, police officers will also be able to take appropriate measures and issue a decision on the application of the appropriate sanction.

Note! There is no need to contact the police if the patient spent money on medications that were not necessary or was denied free treatment. In these cases, the authorities of the Ministry of Internal Affairs will not accept the application, since other authorities are provided for this.

Statement of claim to court

Appeal to the judicial authorities involves filing a claim and is used in cases where it is necessary to recover material and moral damage from a medical institution.

A statement of claim, just like a complaint, requires compliance with the structure of the document. In this case, the circumstances are presented in free form. You must provide the following information:

name and address of the court where the claim is filed;
information about the plaintiff and defendant (name, hospital name, addresses and contacts);
cost of claim;
the circumstances on the basis of which the dispute arose;
reference to laws confirming the right of such appeal;
a demand, for example, to recover compensation for moral damage;
date and personal signature of the patient.

In addition, the claim should be accompanied by documents that serve as evidence of the established violations and confirm the fact of contacting a medical institution.

Note! Before filing a claim, you should contact a qualified lawyer, since the statement must include not only a description of the circumstances of the violation of the patient’s rights, but also the legal basis for the complaint.

Here it is also necessary to take into account that for a positive resolution of the dispute, confirmation of the fact of pre-trial settlement of the conflict is necessary. The court is required to provide evidence of filing a complaint with the head physician, the Ministry of Health, and the insurance company. Thus, there must be confirmation that the dispute was not resolved peacefully.

Time limits for consideration of a claim on its merits

Remember! The current legislation of the Russian Federation has not established time limits for conducting trials in cases of this category. Thus, the courts have the opportunity to allow the parties to the case to familiarize themselves with documents, collect evidence, and prepare for consideration of the case on the merits.

Based on the norms enshrined in Article 227 of the Criminal Procedure Code of the Russian Federation, the judge appointed by the chairman of the court to consider the case on the merits independently determines the date for which the court hearing is scheduled. When setting this date, the judge takes into account the complexity of the case under consideration, the workload of the court, the volume of documents and other circumstances.

The date of the first court hearing must be determined within 30 days from the date of receipt of the statement of claim. If one of the parties to the case is taken into custody, this period is reduced to 14 days.

How to complain about a doctor at a private clinic

Private medicine, in fact, is no different from city clinics, since the principle of its work is also to provide assistance to sick people. The violations that may be committed by doctors at such medical institutions are no different. A person is prescribed the wrong medicine, makes a mistake in diagnosis, extorts money beyond the stipulated cost of services - all this serves as a reason to complain.

You can file a complaint against the actions of a doctor, regardless of whether it is a private clinic or a public one.

To file a complaint against a doctor at a specific private clinic, you can select one of the considered authorities. It is also additionally possible to contact Rospotrebnadzor, since private medicine involves the provision of paid services to individual entrepreneurs or other individuals. This department is vested with the authority to supervise the activities of entrepreneurs, in particular the medical field. Which, if violations are detected, will entail contacting the authorities for the application of penalties.

Consequences

In response to the victim's grievances, an investigation is conducted. The consequences may be:

Reprimanding the responsible employee, warning.
Imposition of penalties on the institution where the patient was treated.
Receipt of compensation by the applicant.
Temporary closure of the clinic, deprivation of the license of the private clinic.

Every institution has a practice of accepting complaints. Hospitals, clinics, private or public, municipal departments are no exception in this regard. Claims from citizens against doctors are accepted, for example, by the Moscow Department of Health, the Ministry of Health, Roszdravnadzor, Rospotrebnadhor, the police, the prosecutor's office and the court. For the convenience of citizens, hotlines operate. In addition, some applications are also reviewed by insurance companies.

Sample complaint against a doctor

As mentioned above, there is no single example of a complaint against a doctor. In each individual case, the citizen independently formulates an appeal. The only requirement is compliance with the structure of the document presented in federal legislation. Samples of writing a complaint can be found in this article if difficulties arise in formulating the situation and justifying the position.

Thus, it is possible to challenge the actions of doctors by contacting several authorities at once. A complaint will help not only to obtain compensation for material losses and moral damage, but to deprive the doctor of practice.

A sample complaint can be downloaded below:
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Statement of claim to court

You can go to this body in cases where the local doctor seriously harmed a person, ignored sanitary standards (poor sterilization of instruments, etc.), committed negligence with consequences, or hid information important to the patient. But only cases with evidence and provided that the claim is written correctly will be considered in court. The structure must be strictly followed, but the applicant can describe some points in a relatively free format (for example, the circumstances of the conflict).

Information that must be provided:

address and name of the court where the document is sent;
information about the applicant and the respondent (name of the hospital where the respondent works, his full name, addresses and contact information);
cost of the claim;
on what grounds does the dispute begin with references to legal grounds;
listing of demands (to receive compensation for moral harm);
signature and date.

Also, the claim must be accompanied by documents and evidence that the complaint has all the grounds. But before you write to the court, it is advisable to consult a lawyer. He will help you file your claim correctly.

Before writing and sending documents to court, it is worth having evidence of an attempt to resolve the conflict pre-trial. If this attempt was ignored, the court will definitely accept complaints against doctors, since there is evidence that an attempt to resolve the conflict amicably was made, but the other party ignored it.