A hospital in the UAE has been ordered to pay a patient AED1.5 million following alleged negligence that resulted in serious complications.
In a report by AlBayan, the hospital’s medical team failed to successfully cure one of the patients in the hospital. It caused him to lose the ability to move the lower extremities of his body, and his feet to be paralyzed. He also completely lost sexual activity, with a neurologic deficit of the spine by 20%.
According to the report, the patient headed to the hospital after suffering back pains, where he was told that he needs to have a surgery.
The patient agreed, and the hospital completed all the required documents and tests. During the operation, the posterior vertebral arch of the fourth lumbar vertebra was removed, and a spinal disc of the fourth and fifth vertebrae were removed.
After several days, the patient visited the hospital 4 times in a row, complaining of pain and pus coming out from the place of the wound. His family said several surgeries were performed on him, after which, he was discharged on a wheelchair.
The patient then filed a complaint with the health authorities, which, in turn, referred the case to the Supreme Committee for Medical Responsibility. The Committee concluded that the patient cannot walk or stand and has developed weakness in his lower body, making him unable to control the passage of urine and feces, and lose sexual drive.
The committee’s report confirmed that the patient was completely paralyzed in the diastolic and systolic movement of the feet due after the attending doctor made a mistake, and did not discover the imbalance of the vertebrae after the operation.
Meanwhile, the paralysis of the feet, as well as problems of urination and with sexual organs, were due to the fact that the fourth and fifth lumbar vertebrae have slipped out-of-place. The report blamed this on the negligence of the staff.
The Court of First Instance and the Court of Appeal ruled that the hospital was guilty of the errors and obligated it to pay a compensation of AED 1.5 million.
The hospital filed an appeal before the Court of Cessation, where its request was rejected.
