What to do after a suspected medical error

A court will not hear a compensation claim until your case has been referred to a medical liability committee, so the order of these steps matters.¹

What should you do first?

Get the care you need. Under the federal patient charter, facilities must give priority to treating an emergency and settle administrative and financial matters afterwards.²

The charter says each step taken in your care is recorded in your health file.² If you are still being treated, tell the treating doctor what you think went wrong.

How do you get your medical file and a medical report?

Ask the facility in writing. Under Federal Law No. 5 of 2019, the physician must give you a detailed medical report on your condition and the facility must give you a copy of your medical file, on a request by you, your custodian, guardian, trustee or legal agent.³ The federal patient charter also gives you the right to detailed invoices for every service you received.²

In Dubai, DHA’s data policy says a patient’s request for their records is answered within one month, for example 30 calendar days.⁴ Emirates Health Services (EHS) lists a medical report as taking 5 working days and costing AED 50.⁵

Use the medical records request tool to write the request, and read medical records for the rules on access.

What should you write down?

The dates, the names and what was said, while you remember them. EHS asks for the patient’s name, the facility, the names of the medical staff where possible, and the cause of the complaint stated clearly.⁶ The federal regulations say a complaint must state its subject precisely.⁷

A complaint to a health authority must be in Arabic or come with an Arabic translation.⁷ The Department of Health Abu Dhabi (DoH) accepts its form in Arabic or English, but the details of the complaint must be in Arabic.⁸

Write a dated timeline today and keep it with your records.

Should you complain to the facility first?

In most cases, yes. DoH advises you to submit an official complaint to the facility’s management, using its complaints form or its complaints officer, and to call 800555 if the complaint is not answered.⁹ EHS forwards a complaint to the facility concerned first, and says a complaint may be closed if the complainant takes no action within 5 days.⁶

The federal patient charter says a facility must take patients’ complaints seriously, investigate them and reply in writing with the outcome.²

Send your complaint to the facility in writing, keep a copy, and ask for a written reply.

Where do you complain if the facility does not resolve it?

To the health authority that licensed the facility.

• Dubai Health Authority (DHA): complaints against healthcare professionals and facilities in Dubai. The service is free.¹⁰
• Department of Health Abu Dhabi (DoH): any licensed healthcare facility or professional in the emirate.¹¹
• Ministry of Health and Prevention (MOHAP): private facilities it licenses in Sharjah, Ajman, Umm Al Quwain, Ras Al Khaimah and Fujairah.¹²
• Emirates Health Services (EHS): its own hospitals and centres.⁶
• Sharjah Health Authority (SHA): facilities it licenses.¹³

Use the where to complain tool to match your facility to the authority and its service page.

How long do you have to complain?

Three years at DHA, DoH and EHS. Table 1 sets out each limit.

The limits come from DHA, DoH and EHS service pages, the medical liability law and the civil law.^{10,8,6,12,1,14} The civil law changed on 1 June 2026. The old law also set 3 years from knowing of the harm and the person responsible, and 15 years from the act.¹⁵ MOHAP’s page does not set a limit. Ask MOHAP.

Put your dates into the complaint deadlines tool. The time limits page explains each one.

What happens at the committee, and can you appeal?

The authority sends your complaint to a Medical Liability Committee, which must report within 30 days of referral, extendable with the authority’s approval.¹ The report says whether there was an error, how serious it was, each person’s share, the link between the error and the harm, and any disability percentage.¹

You or the practitioner can file a grievance with the health authority within 30 days of being legally notified of the report. Without one, the report is final.¹ DoH and EHS list an appeal fee of AED 5,000.^16,17

Note the date you are notified of the report. See the committee and how to appeal.

When can you claim compensation?

After your case has been referred to a medical liability committee. Courts do not accept a compensation claim arising from medical liability until it has been referred to a Medical Liability Committee.¹ DoH says it does not award compensation and that you may go to the judicial authorities for it.⁸ MOHAP says the complainant may use the committee’s decision before the courts.¹²

Read compensation before you file a claim.

When can you make a criminal complaint?

You can file one with the Public Prosecution, which refers it straight to the health authority. No practitioner may be investigated, arrested or held because of a complaint until the authority’s final medical report confirms a gross medical error.¹ A gross error carries up to one year in prison, a fine of up to AED 200,000, or both.¹

The victim or the heirs may ask for reconciliation at any stage. It ends the criminal action and does not affect the right to claim compensation in the civil courts.¹

Read criminal complaints and gross medical error before you file one.

The small print

The right to a medical report and copy of the file is Article 22 of Federal Law No. 5 of 2019.³ The complaint rules are in Article 8 of Cabinet Resolution No. 40 of 2019.⁷ The committee’s 30-day period is Article 19 of Federal Decree-Law No. 4 of 2016, the grievance period Article 20, the committee requirement for compensation claims Article 18, the rule on investigation and arrest Article 24, the penalties Article 34 and reconciliation Article 35.¹ The civil limits are Article 258 of Federal Decree-Law No. 25 of 2025 and, before 1 June 2026, Article 298 of Federal Law No. 5 of 1985.^14,15 Under Article 258(2), where the claim arises from a crime and the criminal action can still be brought after the 3 years, the period does not start until the criminal action ends.¹⁴

The charter’s facility duties are general principles 4 and 10, and the rights to a medical report, a copy of the file and detailed invoices are in its second section.²