Under German law a doctor does not owe a patient a cure. Since 2013 the treatment contract has its own sections in the Civil Code. The treatment must follow the generally recognized professional standards at the time it is given. A legal guide puts it in one line: Der Behandelnde schuldet keinen Heilerfolg, wohl aber eine Behandlung nach anerkannten Standards. The person treating owes no cure, but does owe treatment by recognized standards. A treatment error exists when what was done, the Ist-Standard, falls short of what should have been done, the Soll-Standard. Patients who suspect an error can turn to the expert commissions and arbitration boards of the medical chambers. In 2024 these bodies received 7,607 applications and decided 4,163 cases. In 1,134 cases the medical and legal experts found a treatment error.