Public hospital liability
PUBLIC HOSPITAL RESPONSIBILITY
A doctor practicing within a public hospital is not personally liable for harm caused to a patient due to their fault.
Indeed, the doctor acts as a public service agent, and the patient is considered a user of a public service. As such, only the public healthcare institution can be held liable.
If, however, the doctor commits a personal fault separate from their official duties, then civil liability may apply — but only in such cases.
A personal fault separate from official duties is defined by case law as a particularly serious fault that cannot reasonably be attributed to the normal functioning of the public service. This includes, for example, a fault committed with intent to harm, for personal gain, or a blatant breach of professional ethics.
Since the law of March 4, 2002, the administrative liability of public healthcare institutions can be invoked under Article L1142-1 of the Public Health Code, just like the liability of private healthcare professionals and institutions. Therefore, apart from the exceptional cases provided for in Article L1142-1, the administrative liability of a public healthcare institution can only be established if the patient provides proof of a fault, a damage, and a causal link between the two.
A medical expert assessment will be required to establish this fault. In principle, no judge will rule on medical liability without first obtaining the informed opinion of a qualified medical expert.
The competent courts for handling administrative liability of public healthcare institutions are:
• the Administrative Court at first instance,
• the Administrative Court of Appeal,
• and, if necessary, the Council of State (Conseil d’État).
PUBLIC HOSPITAL RESPONSIBILITY
PUBLIC HOSPITAL RESPONSIBILITY
A doctor practicing within a public hospital is not personally liable for harm caused to a patient due to their own fault.
Indeed, the doctor acts as a public service agent, while the patient is considered a public service user. Therefore, only the liability of the public healthcare institution can be engaged.
However, if the doctor commits what is known as a personal fault separable from their duties, they may then incur personal civil liability—but only under those specific circumstances.
A personal fault separable from official duties is defined by case law as a particularly serious fault that cannot reasonably be attributed to the functioning of the public service. Examples include misconduct committed with intent to harm, for personal gain, or a fault that is inexcusable under professional ethics.
Since the law of March 4, 2002, the administrative liability of public healthcare institutions may be invoked under Article L1142-1 of the Public Health Code, just like the liability of private professionals and institutions. Therefore, except in the exceptional cases mentioned in Article L1142-1, the administrative liability of a public healthcare institution can only be engaged if the patient proves the existence of a fault, a damage, and a causal link between the two.
A medical expert assessment will be required to establish such fault. In principle, no judge will rule on medical liability without first obtaining the opinion of a qualified expert.
The competent courts for hearing administrative liability cases involving public healthcare institutions are:
• the Administrative Court (first instance),
• the Administrative Court of Appeal,
• and, if necessary, the Council of State (Conseil d’État).
Public hospital liability
PUBLIC HOSPITAL RESPONSIBILITY
A doctor practicing within a public hospital is not personally liable for harm caused to a patient due to their own fault.
Indeed, the doctor acts as a public service agent, and the patient is considered a user of a public service. As a result, only the public institution’s liability may be engaged.
However, when the doctor commits what is known as a personal fault separable from their duties, they may then incur civil liability, but only in such cases.
Case law defines a personal fault separable from official duties as a particularly serious fault that cannot reasonably be attributed to the normal functioning of the service. This includes, for instance, a fault committed with intent to harm, for personal interest, or one that is inexcusable under professional ethics.
Since the law of March 4, 2002, the administrative liability of public healthcare institutions may be engaged under Article L1142-1 of the French Public Health Code, just like the liability of private professionals and institutions. Outside of exceptional circumstances provided for in Article L1142-1, the administrative liability of a public healthcare institution can only be established if the patient proves the existence of a fault, a damage, and a causal link between the two.
A medical expert assessment is required to demonstrate this fault. In principle, no judge will rule on medical liability without first obtaining the informed opinion of a qualified expert in the field.
The courts competent to hear cases involving the administrative liability of public healthcare institutions are:
• the Administrative Court at first instance,
• the Administrative Court of Appeal on appeal,
• and, if applicable, the Council of State (Conseil d’État).
PUBLIC HOSPITAL RESPONSIBILITY
Our Privacy Policy
Last updated: 03/03/2021
We care about the privacy of users of our website and are committed to protecting the information that users share with us when they use our site. We are fully committed to protecting and using your information in accordance with applicable law.
This Privacy Policy describes our practices regarding the collection, use, and disclosure of your information through our digital properties when you access the Services from your device.
Before accessing or using any of our services, please carefully read this Privacy Policy and ensure that you fully understand our practices regarding your information. If you read and fully understand this Privacy Policy, and you remain opposed to our practices, you must immediately cease all use of our digital properties and services. By using this site, you agree to the terms of this Privacy Policy, and by continuing to use our site, you accept this Privacy Policy and any amendments to it.
This Privacy Policy explains the following matters:
• The information we collect
• How we collect the information
• Why we collect the information
• With whom we share the information
• Where the information is stored
• How long the information is retained
• How we protect the information
• Policy regarding minors
• Modifications or updates to the Privacy Policy
The information we collect
Below are the different types of information we may collect:
1. Non-personally identifiable information which may be provided by you during the registration process or collected when you use our services. Non-personal information does not allow us to identify the person to whom it was collected. The non-personal information we collect primarily consists of technical information and aggregated usage data.
2. Personally identifiable information, meaning information that identifies you or can, with reasonable effort, identify you. The personal information we collect through our services includes, but is not limited to, your name, email address, physical address, phone number, or IP address. If we combine personal information with non-personal information, we will treat the combined information as personal information for as long as it remains combined.
How we collect the information
We collect information in the following main ways:
• We collect information you provide voluntarily. For example, we collect information when you contact us directly through any communication channel (e.g., when you send us an email containing comments or feedback).
• We may collect information from third-party sources as described below.
• We collect information that you provide when you access our services through third-party services such as Google.
Why we collect the information
We use your personal information for the following purposes:
• To develop, personalize, and improve our services.
• To respond to your feedback, requests, and inquiries, and provide assistance.
• To analyze request and usage patterns.
• For other internal purposes, research, or statistics.
• To strengthen our data security and fraud prevention capabilities.
• To investigate potential violations, enforce our terms or policies, or comply with applicable law, regulations, or government authorities.
• To send you updates, notices, promotional materials, and other information regarding our services. If we send you promotional emails, you can choose to unsubscribe by clicking the unsubscribe link included in these emails.
With whom we share the information
We may share your information with our service providers to operate our services (e.g., hosting services, technical support, etc.).
We may also disclose your information in the following circumstances: (i) to investigate, detect, prevent, or take action regarding illegal activities, misconduct, fraud suspicions, or security concerns; (ii) to establish or defend our legal rights; (iii) to protect our rights, property, or personal safety, or that of our users or the public; (iv) if we or one of our affiliates undergoes a change of control, including through a merger, acquisition, or purchase of all or most of our assets; (v) to collect, hold, and/or manage your information through authorized third-party service providers (e.g., online service companies) to the extent that is reasonable for commercial purposes; or (vi) to cooperate with third parties to improve your experience. For clarity, we may transfer and disclose non-personal information at our sole discretion.
Cookies and Similar Technologies
When you visit or access our site, we allow certain third parties to use web beacons, cookies, invisible pixels, scripts, tags, and other tracking technologies and services. These tracking technologies may allow third parties to automatically collect information about you to improve how you navigate our digital properties, enhance the performance of our digital properties, and personalize your experience, as well as for security and fraud prevention purposes.
We will not share your email address or any other personal information with online advertising companies or ad networks without your consent.
How we protect the information
Our hosting service provider provides the online platform that allows us to deliver our services. Your data may be stored through data storage applications, databases, or general platforms provided by our hosting provider. It stores your information on secure servers behind firewalls and offers secure HTTPS access.
Minors
Our services are not intended for minors. We do not knowingly collect information from children. If you are underage, you should not download or use our services, nor provide us with information.
We reserve the right to request proof of age at any time to ensure that minors are not using our services. If we learn that someone under the age of majority is using our services, we may block that user’s access and delete any information stored about them. If you believe a minor has shared information with us, please contact us via our contact form.
Your Rights Under the GDPR (EU Residents)
If you reside in the EU, you may:
• Request confirmation that personal information about you is being processed and access the personal information we hold about you, as well as certain additional information.
• Request a copy of the personal information you have voluntarily provided to us in a structured, commonly used, and machine-readable format.
• Request the correction of any personal information we control.
• Request the deletion of your personal information.
• Object to the processing of your personal information.
• Request the restriction of the processing of your personal information by us.
• File a complaint with a supervisory authority.
Changes or Updates to the Privacy Policy
We may revise this privacy policy whenever necessary at our sole discretion, and the most recent version will always be displayed on our website. We encourage you to review this Privacy Policy regularly to stay informed about any changes. In case of significant changes, we will post a notice on our website announcing these changes. If you continue to use our services after changes have been posted, this will constitute your acknowledgment of and agreement to those changes and your consent to be bound by the terms of those changes.
If you have any general questions about the Services or the information we collect about you, or how we use it, please contact us through our contact form.