Medical Malpractice in Saudi Arabia: How Liability Works and How Claims Are Decided

A guide to medico-legal liability in Saudi Arabia: the Healthcare Professions Law, civil, criminal and disciplinary liability, and the specialised medical courts.

Medical malpractice claims in Saudi Arabia follow their own legal framework, separate from ordinary civil claims. Whether you are a patient, a healthcare practitioner or a hospital, it helps to understand how liability is decided and where claims are heard.

The main law

The Law of Practicing Healthcare Professions, issued by Royal Decree No. M/59 in 1426H (2005), is the main source of medical liability rules. It sets out practitioners' duties — including working to recognised scientific and professional standards, obtaining the patient's consent before treatment except in emergencies, and keeping patient information confidential — and the consequences of breaching them.

Three kinds of liability

1. Civil (professional) liability. A practitioner whose professional error harms a patient must compensate the patient. Clauses that try to exclude or limit this liability are void. Compensation can include diyah (blood money) and indemnity for harm.
2. Criminal liability. Certain serious breaches — for example, practising without a licence — can lead to fines and imprisonment.
3. Disciplinary liability. Breaching professional duties or ethics can lead to a warning, a fine or cancellation of the practitioner's licence.

The same incident can give rise to more than one type of liability.

Malpractice insurance

Cooperative malpractice insurance is mandatory for physicians and dentists working in public and private health institutions. If cover is missing or insufficient, the institution pays the compensation awarded and can recover it from the practitioner responsible.

Where claims are decided

For many years, malpractice claims involving private rights (such as diyah or compensation), and serious cases involving death or loss of an organ or its function, were heard by the Sharia Health Panel (al-Hay'a al-Sihhiya al-Shar'iya), a specialist body combining a judge with doctors, a pharmacist and a legal adviser.

Following a decision of the Supreme Judicial Council, jurisdiction over medical malpractice claims, including the liability of private health institutions, has moved to specialised circuits of the General Courts, with their own appeal circuits. Judges can appoint medical experts in the relevant specialty, and hearings can be held electronically through the Ministry of Justice platform.

Practical points for patients and practitioners

• Keep records. Medical records, consent forms, prescriptions and correspondence are the core evidence.
• Act promptly. Time limits and procedures can affect your claim — take advice early.
• Expert evidence decides most cases. The question is usually whether the practitioner met the accepted standard of care in the specialty.
• Practitioners: keep your insurance current, document consent and clinical reasoning, and report incidents through your institution's procedures.

How AI can help

AI can help you organise a medical timeline from records and correspondence, identify the key questions an expert will need to answer, and prepare a structured first draft of a complaint or claim for review by a lawyer.

Try it: organise your case with LexArab's legal guidance tools.

This article is general information, not legal or medical advice. Medical liability cases are complex; consult a licensed Saudi lawyer.