Couple wins damages lawsuit

A couple have won a civil lawsuit against a health institution and will receive Dh200,000 in compensation for the psychological damage they incurred after the death of their child due to a medical error.

Abu Dhabi Civil Court of First Instance ordered the ruling after it was reported that the baby suffered from spastic cerebral palsy and brain atrophy following its birth, meaning he was left with mental and physical disabilities. Due to his health problems, the infant died before reaching his first birthday. The ruling made it mandatory on the defendant to bear the expenses and lawyer charges but the verdict is open to appeal.

The heart broken parents of the child filed a lawsuit demanding Dh5 million in indemnity for the material and moral damages they inflicted as a result of the medical negligence by the doctors.

In their plea, the couple said the boy was unable to breathe and was put on artificial breathing apparatus.Later, it appeared the error occurred as a result of a delay in delivery in which the umbilical cord wrapped around the newborn’s neck, which ultimately caused the brain damage.

The forensic medical report proved a professional medical error which led to the baby’s death.

In its defence, the defendant (the hospital) claimed a verdict in this case had already been issued by Abu Dhabi Misdemeanors Court, ordering the hospital to pay Dh200,000 as Diyya of the child, and that the ruling was carried out: “The adjudicated compensation covered all the material and moral damages, the subject matter of the demand, hence it is necessary to turn down the lawsuit”, the hospital said.

It added that the alleged medical error was seen in not performing a caesarean section soon enough, after a slow heartbeat was detected. It said that a slow heartbeat is normal in delivery hence why they did not perform the procedure. When the heartbeat faded the second time, it was too late to perform a c-section, despite the danger to the mother and baby’s life, because the mother had began pushing and the baby was crowning. The hospital claimed the child’s death was not the result of a medical error in delivery.

The court had issued a preliminary verdict by referring the file of the case to the Higher Committee for the medical responsibility, which underlined in its report that the members of the medical team involved neglected their duty, which resulted in the delivery of an infant with deteriorating health conditions. Therefore, the civil court ordered the defendant to pay the compensation in the civil lawsuit of Dh200,000 to the complainants for the physiological damages they had sustained.

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