Court case 9 O 158/21 – Court Ruling (Germany, 2022)

The plaintiff, who suffered severe shoulder pain and had an unstable biceps tendon, underwent surgery at the defendant hospital on 10 January 2019. Despite an elective medical agreement with the defendant anesthesiologist, he did not participate in the surgery due to unavailability. Post-surgery, the plaintiff reported numbness in her left cheek and speech difficulties, which she claimed were initially dismissed by the hospital staff. Subsequent medical evaluations found no acute issues, but a suspected hypoglossal nerve palsy was diagnosed. The plaintiff declined the recommended corticosteroid therapy. On 16 February 2019, the plaintiff requested full disclosure of her medical data under GDPR from the hospital, which provided her treatment documentation, claiming it was complete. In November 2019, she initiated an independent evidence procedure, resulting in an expert report. The plaintiff claimed the surgery caused nerve damage due to faulty intubation and positioning and that the hospital's response to her complaints was inadequate and delayed. She also alleged insufficient information on corticosteroid therapy, leading to her rejection of the treatment, and claimed ongoing health issues and job loss due to the surgery complications. The court dismissed the plaintiff's claims, ruling that no treatment errors occurred during the surgery or in the hospital's response to her complaints. The expert testimonies confirmed that the surgery and postoperative care were conducted according to medical standards. The court found the plaintiff's positioning and intubation during surgery to be proper and the complications she experienced to be rare, inherent risks not resulting from malpractice. The documentation of the plaintiff's care was deemed sufficient, and the plaintiff's claim of earlier complaint communication was unsupported. Regarding the GDPR claims, the court held that the hospital had provided all required personal data and adequately fulfilled its disclosure o