Healthcare Sector Newsletter
07/04/2026
Healthcare Sector Newsletter
Flash informativos
On the occasion of World Health Day, celebrated today under the motto "United for Health. Supporting Science", we publish this newsletter, in which we analyse some of the recent and significant rulings on health law handed down by the Supreme Court and the High Courts of Justice in the first months of 2026, as well as the legislation enacted during that period.
The rulings discussed address highly common issues in practice: from the scope and content of informed consent — particularly in the context of childbirth and complex surgical procedures — to the limits of liability in cases of diagnostic error, as well as the manner in which expert reports must be assessed and damages quantified.
These are pronouncements that provide useful criteria for legal practice, both in the defence of healthcare professionals and in the pursuit of liability claims.
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JUDICIAL RULINGS |
An emergency situation does not exempt from the obligation to obtain informed consent, unless a serious and imminent risk has been duly established. |
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The assessment of expert reports must be conducted in accordance with the rules of sound judicial reasoning, requiring a logical, reasoned and coherent analysis consistent with the body of evidence as a whole. |
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Is informed consent signed by the patient for a different procedure from the one actually performed valid, where both procedures entail similar risks? |
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High Court of Justice of Madrid, Judgment no. 33/2026, 15 January 2026 |
A diagnostic error or delayed diagnosis is not considered to constitute medical malpractice where the patient's symptoms have been duly assessed and the appropriate diagnostic tests carried out. |
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High Court of Justice of Castilla y León, Judgment no. 93/2026, |
Informed consent in complex surgical procedures requires particularly clear and comprehensible information regarding the possible serious sequelae. |
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LEGISLATION |
Royal Decree 239/2026, of 25 March |
Amending Royal Decree 1277/2003, of 10 October, establishing the general framework for the authorisation of healthcare centres, services and establishments. |
