Treatment in Brazil Went Wrong? Your Rights as a Foreign Patient

If you had medical or dental treatment in Brazil, you have the same consumer rights as a Brazilian patient, even if you live in another country. The clinic or hospital is liable for damage regardless of fault; the individual doctor or dentist is liable when at fault — and, for cosmetic plastic surgery and cosmetic dental work, Brazilian courts presume that fault. You have five years to act. You can complain, negotiate and even sue without returning to Brazil.

What Brazilian law says

Brazil’s Consumer Defense Code (Law 8,078/1990, known as the CDC) applies to every service provided in Brazil, to anyone, whatever their nationality or place of residence. For a patient, that means three rules:

• Clinics, hospitals and laboratories are liable without proof of fault (article 14). You need to show the damage and its link to the service.
• The doctor or dentist as an individual is liable when at fault — lack of skill, recklessness or negligence (article 14, paragraph 4).
• In cosmetic plastic surgery, fault is presumed. Brazil’s Superior Court of Justice (STJ) treats the surgeon’s undertaking as an obligation of result: if the agreed outcome is not achieved, failure is presumed and the surgeon must prove that everything was done correctly (STJ, REsp 985.888/SP). The same reasoning has been applied to orthodontic treatment (STJ, REsp 1.238.746/MS) and is usually extended to cosmetic dental work such as veneers. Therapeutic treatment — a reconstructive operation, a root canal — follows the general rule: fault must be proven.

A hospital is also liable for the professionals who operate there, and a clinic answers for work done in its name, even if another professional carried it out.

What can be compensated

• Financial loss: the amount you paid, corrective treatment (in Brazil or at home), flights, accommodation, medication and lost working days, as long as they are documented.
• Moral damages (pain and suffering): set by the judge according to the severity of the case.
• Aesthetic damage: a visible, permanent change in appearance. It can be awarded on top of moral damages (STJ, Súmula 387).

Evidence usually consists of dated photographs, a written report from another professional (your own dentist or doctor at home, translated), scans, messages exchanged with the clinic, the contract, the quote and receipts.

The deadline: five years

A claim for compensation must be brought within five years from the moment you became aware of the damage and of who caused it (CDC, article 27). Do not wait: evidence disappears, your clinical picture changes and clinics close down.

First step: your medical records

Your records are the central document in any claim. You are entitled to a complete copy, including imaging, the informed consent form, the description of the procedure, the materials used and prescriptions. In medicine, refusing access or a copy is an ethical offence (Code of Medical Ethics, article 88).

Ask in writing, by email or letter, setting a reasonable deadline and keeping proof that you sent it. Ask at the same time for the invoice (nota fiscal), the contract and the traceability label of any implant or prosthesis (brand, model and batch number). Records are issued in Portuguese; if you need them abroad, you will probably need a translation.

Your options

1. Direct negotiation. Many clinics would rather redo the work or refund money than face a lawsuit. A formal notice describing the problem and stating exactly what you want is the usual starting point.
2. A complaint to the professional council (the Regional Medical Council, CRM, or the Regional Dental Council, CRO). This opens an ethics proceeding against the professional. It does not award compensation, but it can lead to sanctions and produces useful evidence.
3. Consumer protection bodies (Procon and the government platform consumidor.gov.br). Useful for pressure, but they require a Brazilian taxpayer number (CPF) and a gov.br account, which can be a hurdle.
4. Mediation or conciliation, which can take place by video call.
5. A lawsuit in Brazil, described below.
6. A lawsuit in your own country. Possible in some cases, but a foreign judgment can only be enforced in Brazil after recognition by the Superior Court of Justice, and the clinic’s assets are in Brazil. In practice, suing in Brazil is usually the more effective route.

Suing in Brazil without living in Brazil

Brazilian courts have jurisdiction because the clinic is domiciled in Brazil and the events took place there (Code of Civil Procedure, article 21). For a patient living abroad, four practical points:

• Power of attorney. Signed in your country and apostilled (Brazil joined the Hague Apostille Convention in 2016; the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia and, since 2024, Canada are also members) or legalised at a Brazilian consulate, then translated by a sworn translator.
• Security for costs. A claimant who lives outside Brazil and owns no real estate there must, as a rule, deposit security for the other side’s court costs and legal fees (Code of Civil Procedure, article 83). International treaties may alter this rule, and whether one applies has to be checked case by case. This changes the upfront cost and must be analysed before any decision.
• Hearings by video are allowed. A court-appointed medical or dental expert, however, will normally need to examine you in person, which may mean a trip to Brazil or an expert report based on documents — something to plan from the outset.
• Small claims courts exist for lower-value cases, but they require personal attendance and are impractical for someone living abroad.

Cases of this kind take years, and settlements along the way are common.

What to do now

• Document everything: dated photos, messages with the clinic, receipts, the contract.
• See a professional at home and ask for a written report of what they found.
• Request your records in writing, as described above.
• Do not sign releases, “settlements” or statements sent by the clinic without legal review.
• Keep any prostheses, implants or parts that were removed.
• Check the five-year deadline.

This article is not a medical or dental assessment. The office does not recommend, technically evaluate or have any relationship with clinics, hospitals or healthcare professionals.

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Sources: Consumer Defence Code (Law 8,078/1990), articles 14 and 27 · Code of Civil Procedure, articles 21 and 83 · Code of Medical Ethics (CFM Resolution 2,217/2018), article 88 · STJ: REsp 985.888/SP, REsp 1.238.746/MS, Precedent (Súmula) 387.