Healthcare law has been one of our areas since the firm was set up, and a substantial part of our client base comes from it. We act for providers of healthcare services and for individual professionals, and — separately — for patients pursuing claims for damage to health.
For providers of healthcare services
- Setting up and running a practice: the licence to provide healthcare services, changes to its scope, and the corporate structure behind it
- Contractual documentation for the operation of a provider, including agreements with cooperating physicians and with suppliers
- Internal rules and policies: consent forms, records management, complaint handling, and the interface with data protection
- Buying and selling a practice, including due diligence on the licence, the patient base and the insurance contracts
- Dealings with health-insurance funds: reimbursement contracts, disputed billing, audits
- Dealings with public authorities, including regional offices and the State Institute for Drug Control
For healthcare professionals
- Defence in litigation over damage to health and before professional and administrative bodies
- Instructing experts and working with expert opinions, which is usually where these cases are decided
- Employment disputes, including on-call time and overtime in healthcare
- Recognition of foreign qualifications, and the position of professionals who trained outside the Czech Republic
For patients
- Access to medical records and to the documentation needed to assess a claim
- Claims for damage to health, for pain and for loss of amenity, and claims by surviving relatives
- Complaints against a provider and the escalation route where the complaint is not resolved
- Advice on informed consent, and on treatment given without it
We act either for a provider or for a patient in a given matter, never both. If we already act for the other side, we say so and decline.
Frequently asked questions
I am not sure whether what happened was negligence. Can you tell me?
Not from the description alone, and no honest lawyer will. The first step is the medical records; the second is a view from an expert in the relevant field. Only then is there something to assess.
Am I entitled to my medical records?
Yes. A patient has a right of access to their own records and to copies, and a provider that refuses is in breach. This applies whether or not you intend to bring a claim.
I was treated in the Czech Republic but live abroad. Where do I bring a claim?
Usually where the treatment took place, though the position depends on the parties and the contract. It is worth settling before limitation becomes an issue.
Is treatment without consent unlawful?
As a rule, healthcare may be provided only with informed consent, with narrow exceptions for emergencies and cases the law defines. Whether consent was properly obtained turns on what the patient was actually told, which is a documentation question.
Why bring this to MACH LEGAL
- We work with you in English. You deal with the lawyer handling your file, not with a translator in between. We also work in German, Czech, Hebrew and Portuguese.
- Czech law, explained in the terms you know. Most of our English-speaking clients come from another legal system. We say where Czech law differs from what you would expect, not only what it says.
- Cross-border matters stay in one place. Our partner Dr. Tomas Mach is an attorney-at-law registered with the Czech Bar Association (13282), the Slovak Bar Association (7581) and the Rechtsanwaltskammer Köln (61058), and a court-appointed expert in the law of the Federal Republic of Germany and the law of the Slovak Republic.
- A written scope and a written fee. We agree what we will do and on what basis we charge before we start. See Legal services and fees.
How we work
- First contact. Send us the documents and a short description of the situation. We tell you whether the matter needs a lawyer at all.
- Assessment. You get our reading of the position, the options and the likely cost of each.
- Instruction. A power of attorney and a written scope of work.
- The work itself. Drafting, negotiating or representing you, with a report at each step that needs your decision.
Contact: Contact page · praha@machlegal.eu · +420 245 008 552