Medical malpractice is the civil liability that arises when a healthcare professional or medical institution causes harm to a patient through fault, negligence, incompetence, or breach of professional duties. The applicable legal framework rests on the Civil and Commercial Code (Articles 1716 to 1780, with particular attention to Article 1768 on liberal professions and Article 1758 on institutional liability), Law 26.529 on Patient Rights, the specific lex artis standards of each medical specialty, and the case law of the Supreme Court and civil appellate courts.
Pursuing a malpractice claim is complex and demands solid evidence: a complete medical record, a specialist medical expert report, proof of the causal link between the challenged conduct and the harm, and quantification of the damage across all its components (physical injury, moral damages, lost earnings, future expenses, loss of chance). We advise both injured patients and families and healthcare professionals and institutions in their defense.
For an action to succeed, the following must be established: (a) unlawful conduct by the professional or institution (an act or omission contrary to the lex artis); (b) a basis for attribution of liability (fault, intent, or created risk, as applicable); (c) actual harm in at least one of its components; (d) a causal link between the conduct and the harm. The burden of proof has been eased through the doctrine of dynamic allocation of the evidential burden (Article 1735 of the CCyCN): the party in the best position to prove (typically the physician or institution) must actively cooperate in producing evidence.
Informed consent, governed by Law 26.529, is central: failure to provide adequate information before a procedure can give rise to liability even when the medical intervention was technically correct. The omission of informed consent is itself an actionable legal wrong.
Late or incorrect diagnoses with avoidable consequences: undetected cancers, mishandled emergencies, confused syndromes.
Operative injuries, retained surgical instruments, complications from deficient technique, surgery without indication.
Institutional liability for infections acquired during hospitalization, linked to biosafety failures.
Neonatal injuries, cerebral palsy, errors during cesarean sections, avoidable birth complications.
Adverse reactions from inadequate dosing, lack of monitoring, intubation errors.
Procedures carried out without adequate patient information regarding risks, alternatives, and consequences.
A medical malpractice claim is time-barred three years from the date the damage became known or should have become known (Article 2561 of the CCyCN). Where harm manifests with a delay, the period runs from the time it becomes apparent. The statute of limitations is a central defense that must be analyzed at the outset of any case. Contractual claims (patient against a private plan or social insurance fund) are subject to their own specific limitation periods.