Written for people living in Romania
Dental work and hair transplants dominate the enquiries we receive from Romania, with rhinoplasty and other aesthetic surgery behind them. The distances are short, the flights are cheap, and the packages are sold in fluent Romanian. The aftercare, when something goes wrong, is often neither fluent nor in Romanian.
This guide explains how a claim is organised when you live in Romania and the clinic is abroad. It applies wherever you are, from Timișoara to Iași; the only practical difference is which consular office is closer.
We work in Romanian. The first call is in Romanian, the explanations are in Romanian, and the documents you receive from us are in Romanian. The court file is in Turkish, and we translate the parts that matter before you make any decision.
A composite example, details changed. A software tester from Cluj had fourteen crowns placed in four days. By month six, two had come off and one tooth was infected. Her dentist at home wrote one sentence on a prescription pad: "lucrare incorectă". Kind, honest, and legally useless. The second visit, with a panoramic x-ray and a proper scrisoare medicală, was the one that mattered.
The steps, from Romania
None of the early steps requires you to travel. The review, the records, the medical opinion and the negotiation all happen with you at home. If the matter goes to court, your lawyer represents you at hearings. The rare exception, an expert body wishing to examine you, is flagged early and can usually be handled with a specialist report from Romania or a short planned visit.
The power of attorney: consulate or notar public
A lawyer acting for you needs a power of attorney. From Romania there are two ways to issue one.
The consular route produces the document in the form Turkish courts expect, in one visit. The notary route uses any notar public; the document is then apostilled, which for notarial acts in Romania is done through the notaries' chamber, and translated into Turkish by an authorised translator. We send the exact wording either way. Nothing is signed before the written terms are agreed.
What your scrisoare medicală has to say
The most persuasive document in a Romanian file is a dated, written assessment from an independent specialist in Romania. Dentists and surgeons will write one if asked clearly.
For dental cases, ask for a panoramic x-ray (OPG) and, where implants are involved, a CBCT, with the original image files. For hair transplants, dated photographs of the donor and recipient areas and the dermatologist's or surgeon's notes. For surgery, the bilet de ieșire from any hospital that treated the complication fixes the date and the diagnosis. Keep all of it.
Costs, in writing
Claims involve the lawyer's fee, court fees, expert fees, and translation between Romanian and Turkish. The structure depends on the case and is set out in writing before you commit, together with what happens if the claim does not succeed. Corrective treatment in Romania, lost income, travel and non-material damage all form part of the claim; a Romanian quotation for the corrective work is the usual way of putting a figure on the first of these.
How long you have
Limitation periods depend on the legal basis of the claim and can be shorter than people expect. The figure most often relevant in practice is two years, and it can start running earlier than you assume. Complaining to the clinic does not pause it; neither does a promised free repair. Our guide to limitation periods explains the figures people quote and why none should be relied on without asking. Send the dates first.
What changed in 2026
A regulation published in April 2025 made complication insurance mandatory for international patients undergoing surgical and interventional procedures, with enforcement reported from January 2026 (Hürriyet Daily News). If your treatment was recent, tell us the date. Where a policy exists, it is an additional route, and insurance deadlines are shorter than limitation periods.
Questions we hear from Romania
Can I sue in Romania instead?
In most cases the claim is brought where the treatment took place, against the provider there. A Romanian judgment is difficult to enforce against a clinic abroad. We will say so plainly if your facts are an exception.
The clinic's Romanian-speaking coordinator keeps promising a solution.
Keep every message. A coordinator's promises are evidence of what was represented to you; they are not a reason to wait. The clock does not care how friendly the messages are.
I paid in cash at the clinic.
It matters for proving the amount, not for whether you have a claim. The agency's confirmation, your bank withdrawals, the quotation and any receipt all help.
Next step
Describe what was done, when, and what your doctor in Romania has found, through the case review form in Romanian. Send the records only through the secure link we provide afterwards.
