Injured after treatment abroad: what to check, what to keep, and where you stand
Updated: Oct 10
More than half a million people from the UK go overseas for medical treatment each year. Most of it is uneventful. When treatment abroad goes wrong, almost everything turns on evidence you can only gather at the time. Deadlines are also shorter than most people expect.
The reasons people travel are not mysterious. UK prices are high. NHS dentistry has been retreating for a decade. A quote that is five or six times cheaper is hard to ignore. What surprises people is how little protection they have once they are home and something has gone wrong.
This guide is the practical version. It covers what to ask before you book, what to keep and what to do first if you have been harmed. It also gives an honest answer on whether a claim can realistically be brought.
The number of people travelling has risen far faster than any framework for protecting them when treatment goes wrong. Source: The Times, 28 August 2026.
Medical treatment abroad: planned treatment and insurance
It helps to be clear about what protects you before you go. A Global Health Insurance Card (GHIC) gives access to state healthcare that is medically necessary during a temporary stay in some countries. The older European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) worked in a similar way. Neither is designed to pay for private treatment that you travel abroad to have.
Planned treatment is different. If you want NHS-funded treatment in another country, such as an EU country, you normally need approval first. Check the current rules on the NHS website before you travel.
Travel insurance often leaves a gap as well. Most policies exclude elective treatment abroad and the complications that follow it. Read the wording rather than assuming you are covered.
Before you book treatment abroad
The most useful habit is to put every question in writing and keep the answer. A clinic that will not answer plainly in writing before you pay will not answer at all once you are home.
Who is actually performing the procedure? Ask for the name and qualifications of the individual practitioner, not just the clinic. Confirm that person will still be treating you on the day.
Has anyone physically examined you? A detailed plan produced from photographs within an hour of first contact is a warning sign. It is not efficient service.
Have you disclosed everything? Tell them about existing infections, medication and previous treatment. If you raise a concern and it is brushed aside, save that exchange.
What does aftercare consist of? Find out who you contact, at what hours and for how long after you fly home. Get it in writing with a named contact.
What happens if something goes wrong? Ask which court would hear a dispute, whether the clinic carries insurance and what its complaints process is.
Does your travel insurance cover this? Check the policy wording, as noted above.
Reviews are not evidence. Endorsements from public figures and large volumes of five star reviews tell you about a clinic's marketing budget. They do not tell you about its clinical standards. Review platforms themselves place warnings on some clinic pages over fake reviews. Treat testimonials as advertising, because that is what they are.
What to keep after treatment abroad
Nearly every difficulty we see comes down to evidence. People delete conversations, change phones or never ask for the records in the first place. By the time it matters, the material is gone.
Keep all of the following, and back it up somewhere that is not your phone:
Every message with the clinic. This means WhatsApp, email and social media, in any language. Export the full thread rather than screenshotting parts of it. Do not delete it once treatment is finished.
The treatment plan and every quote. Include versions that were later revised, and the final invoice if it differed from the quote.
Consent forms and anything else you signed. Ask for a copy at the time. Ask for a translation if it was not in English.
Your clinical records from the clinic. These include scans, x rays, notes, implant and device details, and batch numbers. Request them while the relationship is still cordial.
Photographs. Take them before, during and at every stage afterwards, and date them.
Proof of payment and travel. Card statements, transfers, flights and accommodation let the timeline be established independently.
The bar at the top of each stage shows how much of the record you can still obtain. The window closes long before most people realise they will need it, which is why the order of the steps below matters.
If treatment abroad has already gone wrong
Take these steps in order. The first two matter most, and they are the ones people most often skip.
Get treated, and make sure the cause is recorded. Your health comes first. When you are seen in the UK, tell the clinician what was done abroad, where and when. Ask that it goes into your notes. Records made at the time that link your condition to the treatment are the most powerful evidence you will have.
Preserve everything before you complain. Export the message threads and download the records first. Correspondence tends to stop once a complaint is made. Access to online portals can also disappear.
Be careful with any refund the clinic offers. A partial refund is often offered in exchange for a signature. That document may release the clinic from all further liability. It may also bind you to silence. Do not sign anything, in any language, until it has been read and explained to you independently.
Gather your UK medical records and costs. Collect discharge summaries, imaging, operation notes and GP records. Add the cost of any corrective treatment, therapy or care you are paying for yourself.
Take advice early, not eventually. Time limits are the reason most of these claims fail before anyone looks at their merits.
Time limits for a treatment abroad claim
Time limits are shorter than most people expect. The deadline for bringing a claim is generally set by the law of the country where the treatment took place. It is not usually set by English law.
People often assume they have the three years they would have for an injury in England and Wales. That assumption is not safe. By the time it is tested, it is usually too late to do anything about it. If treatment abroad has harmed you, find out where you stand on timing straight away. Do this even if you are still deciding whether you want to do anything at all.
Can you actually bring a claim?
This is the question people ask last and should ask first. The honest answer is that it depends heavily on where the treatment happened and how it was arranged. It is also harder than it was a few years ago.
Suing a foreign clinic in the English courts is possible in some circumstances. The routes are much narrower than they were before the UK left the EU. A clinic with no presence and no assets in the UK may be beyond practical reach, even where a judgment could be obtained.
In many cases the realistic option is a claim in the country where the treatment was carried out. That claim would be under that country's law and in its language.
That is not a reason to give up. It is a reason to get an accurate answer early, from someone who can act in both places, rather than a hopeful one late.
Where a package booking changes things
Sometimes the treatment is sold to you as part of a package alongside flights or accommodation. If a UK based organiser sold it, your position may be much stronger. The organiser can carry responsibility for the services provided within that package.
Whether this applies turns on exactly how the arrangement was put together and sold. Keep the booking documents.
How we work
Canko Law Firm acts for patients injured after treatment overseas. Our Managing Partner, Can Canko, is a solicitor of England and Wales and a member of the Istanbul Bar Association. This means a claim arising from treatment in Turkey can be assessed and pursued where the treatment happened. It does not have to be handed off or turned away.
We will tell you at the outset if we think a claim is not viable, or not worth what it would cost you to bring. That is more useful to you than an encouraging first meeting.
In the press. In August 2026 The Times and The Sunday Times reported on the case of Martyn Kurrant, who travelled to Istanbul for dental treatment. Canko Law Firm acts for Mr Kurrant. The clinic denies the allegations in full, and proceedings are ongoing before the Turkish courts. We do not comment on live cases. Read the article in The Times, by Jack Simpson, 28 August 2026.
Speak to us
If you have been injured after treatment abroad, or you are not sure whether what happened to you amounts to anything, you are welcome to get in touch. Tell us what treatment you had, where, and roughly when. We will tell you honestly whether there is anything to be done.
General information only. This article describes the law of England and Wales in general terms, together with general observations about cross border claims, and is correct to the best of our knowledge at the date of publication. It is not legal advice and must not be relied upon as advice about your own situation. The law that applies to your case, and the deadlines that apply to it, depend on your particular facts. If you may have a claim, take advice on your own circumstances promptly.
