Montenegro’s Constitutional Court ruled for the first time that a patient’s right to life was violated due to a misdiagnosis, overturning a Supreme Court decision and ordering a retrial. The case centres on patient S.J., whose symptoms were repeatedly misinterpreted by domestic doctors over several years. Initially diagnosed with pneumonia, he was later advised that his symptoms were stress-related or non-urgent. It wasn’t until 2015 that imaging revealed a large mediastinal tumour. A biopsy in Montenegro suggested adenocarcinoma, but seeking a second opinion, S.J. travelled to Germany at his own expense, where he was accurately diagnosed with Hodgkin lymphoma and successfully treated.
S.J. later sought reimbursement for treatment costs, but Montenegrin courts rejected his claims, arguing the treatment did not meet the criteria for urgent care abroad. The Constitutional Court, however, ruled that the lower courts failed to consider whether the treatment was vital for preserving the patient’s life and did not adequately weigh his right to health and dignity.
The Court emphasised the importance of assessing medical cases with an understanding of the serious and potentially irreversible nature of harm caused by misdiagnoses. It cited European human rights standards and ordered a retrial, instructing courts to evaluate whether the patient’s life was endangered and if the foreign treatment was essential.
This decision sets a significant precedent for how the Montenegrin legal system must approach medical malpractice and patients’ constitutional rights, particularly the right to life and access to adequate healthcare.
