Harmed by a doctor or hospital's negligence: what the law lets you do
Medical Practitioners and Dentists Act; Limitation of Actions Act · sources read 4 Oct 2026
If a doctor, dentist or hospital harmed you through negligence, you can sue them in court for compensation within 3 years. You can also complain to KMPDC, which can discipline them but cannot order them to pay you.
- Deadline
- 3 years from the date of the harm to file a negligence case in court.
- Deadline
- 30 days from a KMPDC decision to appeal to the High Court.
- Where
- KMPDC (legal@kmpdc.go.ke, or 2nd Floor Legal Department, Woodlands Rd, Hurlingham, Nairobi) for discipline; the courts (efiling.court.go.ke or a court registry) for compensation; NLAS for free legal aid
Steps
- To have the doctor or hospital disciplined, send a written complaint on KMPDC's complaint form by post, by hand to its Hurlingham office, or by email to legal@kmpdc.go.ke.
- If KMPDC finds them guilty, it can caution them, order retraining or probation, suspend or cancel a licence for up to 12 months, remove a doctor from the register, and fine them.
- If you disagree with KMPDC's decision, you can appeal to the High Court within 30 days of the decision.
- For compensation, file a civil case in court against the doctor or hospital. You can do this at the same time as the KMPDC complaint.
- If you can't afford a lawyer, apply for free legal aid from the National Legal Aid Service (NLAS), online or at any NLAS office.
Watch out
- KMPDC's committees cannot order a doctor or hospital to pay you damages. Only a court case can get you compensation.
- Nurses, clinical officers and pharmacists are not registered by KMPDC, so complaints about them go to their own regulators.
- After 3 years, an injury case can go ahead only with the court's permission, where key facts were outside your knowledge until later.
Who this covers
- Anyone unhappy with a professional service from a registered or licensed doctor, dentist or health institution, or who says they broke the standards, can complain to KMPDC.
- Anyone harmed by negligence (a tort) can sue for damages in court.
Official sources (4)
- Medical Practitioners and Dentists Act (Cap. 253) new.kenyalaw.org · read 4 Oct 2026
- Lodging a complaint | Disciplinary matters kmpdc.go.ke · read 3 Oct 2026
- Limitation of Actions Act, No. 21 of 1968 (Cap. 22) new.kenyalaw.org · read 3 Oct 2026
- Legal Aid nlas.go.ke · read 3 Oct 2026