The patient has been in litigation for over 10 years following health damage.
In 2016, the proceedings reached a point where he was required to provide a deposit of over €30,000 to cover the opposing party’s legal costs- simply to be able to continue the case. At that time, the court did not enforce it, as the clinic’s demands were considered disproportionate and absurd.
As of now, the situation has escalated. In the final judgment of the first case in 2025, it was found that despite medical errors and other violations by the clinic established by the court, the patient had not suffered significant damage in the early years (2013-2016), even in the form of very substantial treatment and rehabilitation costs?!
As a result, the patient may now be required to provide a deposit of tens of thousands of euros to cover the clinic’s potential future legal costs in order to continue the case regarding compensation for treatment and rehabilitation expenses for the later period (from 2016 onwards- i.e. the last 10 years and lifelong consequences).
Because the patient’s claim has suddenly been deemed “without prospects.”
If this amount is not paid, the proceedings effectively end regardless of the substance of the case- the medical errors.
This raises a broader questions:
If access to justice depends on a large upfront payment, does an ordinary and vulnerable patient- whose health has been harmed (often seriously) and who faces a large and wealthy private medical institution- actually have a real possibility of obtaining compensation for medical harm?
And can such a situation happen to anyone in the EU?