Medical Malpractice Center · Case Type

Suing a Hospital for Damages
Starts with Finding What Went Wrong in the Records

It is hard for a patient to prove directly what happened in the treatment room. In the end, you have to reconstruct that day's treatment by reading the remaining records line by line. The court awards damages only when you explain, in medical terms, what treatment was needed at that moment and how its absence changed the outcome.

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Key Points

  • A damages claim requires negligence, harm, and causation, and its legal basis is Article 750 (tort) or Article 390 (nonperformance of an obligation) of the Civil Act.
  • If the patient's side shows negligence and the probability that it caused the outcome, the Supreme Court's position is to presume causation (2022Da219427, decided August 31, 2023).
  • What you can recover is actual expenses such as treatment costs, lost income, and compensation for non-economic damages, and courts often reduce the hospital's liability by a certain percentage.
  • The limitation period is three years from learning of the harm and the wrongdoer and ten years from the accident (Article 766 of the Civil Act).

Three links and one separate issue

  • Negligence · Did the doctor fail to exercise the care an ordinary medical professional should have exercised under the clinical standards of the time? This is argued with medical records, clinical guidelines, papers, and expert findings.
  • Harm · Death, permanent disability, additional treatment, or a lost chance of recovery. This is shown with medical certificates, disability assessments, and treatment cost statements.
  • Causation · Was the negligence the cause of that harm? Progress records, expert findings, and records of pre-existing illness are used. Under certain conditions, causation is presumed.
  • Breach of the duty to explain · Separately from the three links above, the court looks at whether treatment proceeded without sufficient explanation and infringed the patient's right to choose. Consent forms and consultation records are the evidence.
Where the burden of proof is eased · The Supreme Court presumes causation if the patient establishes two things. One is that there was an act that could be considered negligent under the medical standards of the time; the other is that it is probable that this act produced the outcome. However, the probability must be consistent with medical principles, and a mere possibility is not enough. If the hospital proves another cause, the presumption is broken (Supreme Court Decision 2022Da219427, decided August 31, 2023).

How a lawsuit proceeds

  1. Record analysisWe obtain all medical records, nursing records, and imaging, organize them minute by minute, and pick out the suspicious periods.
  2. Specialist consultationBased on consulting physicians' opinions, clinical guidelines, and the literature, we identify the treatment that should have been given at that point.
  3. Filing and expert reviewOnce the complaint is filed, the court appoints an expert to review the medical records and, if necessary, conduct a physical examination. A single phrase in the questions put to the expert can change the result.
  4. Dispute over the liability ratioThe parties argue how much the hospital's liability should be reduced, based on the patient's existing illness, the risks of the disease itself, and the difficulty of the procedure.
  5. ConclusionSome cases end with a judgment, but many are resolved through conciliation or a court's settlement recommendation decision.

Should you use medical dispute mediation?

The procedure at the Korea Medical Dispute Mediation and Arbitration Agency has time limits for the expert review and decision written into law, so it ends sooner than a lawsuit and costs less. The obstacle is that the application is dismissed if the hospital does not participate. If the patient died, was unconscious for more than a month, or was left with severe disability, the procedure opens even without the hospital's consent. Mediation cannot be requested in a case already filed in court. For a case with large damages where the parties will clash head-on over negligence, going straight to a lawsuit may be better.

Frequently Asked Questions

I often hear that patients rarely win medical lawsuits.
It is certainly hard to prove negligence medically without any gaps. But because the Supreme Court has opened a path that presumes causation once probability is shown, the work of pinpointing exactly where the records went wrong decides the success of the case.
The hospital said it was sorry. Is that enough?
An apology is a moral statement, and legal liability is a separate matter. An expression of regret alone does not establish negligence. Still, what explanation you heard at the time and what materials you received are useful in assessing the case, so keep a record of them.
I am worried about costs such as expert review fees.
Medical record reviews and physical examinations usually cost a considerable amount. That is why some clients first have the case reviewed for merit before deciding whether to sue, or try mediation first because it costs less.

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Written on the basis of Korean statutes in force (National Law Information Center, Ministry of Government Legislation) and court precedents as of October 20, 2026. Results may differ with amendments to the law or the facts of each case. This page is general information, not legal advice.

Written and reviewed by Attorney Dongwoo Shin — Ph.D. in Law; certified criminal law specialist and certified divorce law specialist registered with the Korean Bar Association. He handles each case personally from consultation to judgment. About the attorney →
Last updated October 20, 2026

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