Full Remedy Actions and the Administration’s Liability for Compensation
A full remedy action seeks redress for material and moral harm alleged to have arisen from the administration’s act, action or the conduct of a public service. A service that does not function at all, functions late or functions poorly may constitute service fault. In some cases, even without fault of the administration, principles of no-fault liability such as risk, social risk or equality before public burdens may come into play.
In a full remedy file, the following points are examined together:
- The administrative act, action or omission that is the source of the harm
- Whether a mandatory application is required before suit
- The start of the application and suit time limits
- The administration’s fault or the conditions of no-fault liability
- The adequate causal link between the harm and the administrative activity
- Contributory conduct, the act of a third party and force majeure
- Actual material harm, loss of earnings and future harm
- Treatment, working capacity, loss of support and other items of harm
- The connection of the moral harm claim to the event
- The start of interest, the amount claimed and procedural limitations
- Expert, specialist opinion and other technical evidence
Harm arising from healthcare provided in a public hospital, from law enforcement activity or public infrastructure, from a right lost because of an administrative act, or from the non-enforcement of an administrative court decision may be the subject of a full remedy action depending on the nature of the specific case. Because the competent court system may differ for disputes arising from private hospitals and private healthcare services, the legal status of the healthcare institution must be separated out.
Related independent pages: Health Law; Medical Malpractice, Physician Error and Hospital Liability
Separate Harm from an Act and Harm from an Action
The framework of İYUK Art. 12 is examined for harm caused by an administrative act, and that of Art. 13 for harm caused by an administrative action. Filing an annulment action does not make compensation payable automatically. The nature and amount of the harm, the causal link and the basis of legal liability must be shown.
Prior application for harm from an action
The general rule under İYUK Art. 13 is an application to the relevant administration within one year of learning of the action, whether by written notification or otherwise, and in any case within five years of the date of the action. After a rejection or 30 days without a reply, the time limit for suit is calculated separately. Where the administrative character of the action or the harm and causation become known only later, the starting point is assessed specifically for the file in light of current case law.
Which evidence may be useful?
Health records, income and expense documents, technical reports, incident records and earlier applications help to explain the harm. The conditions of service fault and of no-fault liability are not the same. The competent judicial route for a public hospital, a private hospital and an employee’s personal conduct is determined separately.
Preparing for the Consultation
Prepare the full decision, the service record and the delivery documents of earlier applications. State any approaching time limit at first contact.