Doctors get jail term in Dubai after surgery goes wrong

Dubai - The patient lost all her mental and physical abilities after the botched surgery.

Three doctors, accused of medical malpractice and negligence in a botched surgery that left an Emirati woman permanently disabled, have each been sentenced to one year in jail by the Dubai Court of Misdemeanours.
The three doctors, including a 59-year-old surgeon (a Dominican Republic national), a 65-year-old anaesthetist and an anaesthetic technician, 69, both Syrians, have all been found guilty of malpractice and negligence during the surgery of 25-year-old Rowdha Al Maeeni. The procedure was to correct a minor nose defect.
However, after the surgery went wrong, Al Maeeni lost all her mental and physical abilities, including her sight and hearing. She fell into a coma after the surgery, suffering a 100 per cent disability.
Because of the surgery, Al Maeeni became totally dependent on others and in need of constant and round-the-clock medical assistance and nurse care.
The court ordered on Wednesday that the three doctors be deported after completing their jail term and jointly paying Dh51,000 in temporary compensation. As per the court ruling, the medical centre, where the procedure took place, and which is now open, has to pay a Dh300,000 fine.
Earlier, only one doctor showed up for the hearing. He denied the charge.
Acting on behalf of the complainant, lawyer Issa Bin Haider, founder and CEO of Bin Haider Advocates and Legal Consultants, said: "I consider the court ruling to be a victory and a testament to the judicial integrity in the UAE."
Dubai attorney general Issam Issa Al Humaidan referred the case to the court in early January. An investigation conducted by the Dubai Public Prosecution, which had medical reports - mainly the final report by the Higher Committee for Medical Liability in the UAE as evidence - found that the defendants committed serious mistakes that caused major health problems to the patient.
The three doctors had their licences suspended by the Dubai Health Authority (DHA) and the medical centre, where they worked, was ordered closed until further notice.
A final report, by the Higher Committee for Medical Liability in the UAE released in November last year, blamed the three doctors for the severe deterioration in the health condition of Al Maeeni.
<>The case dates back to April last year when the patient visited the medical centre because of some breathing difficulty. She was then advised to undergo a surgery to fix a bone in her nose. The operation was scheduled at the one-day-surgery medical centre, which is not suitable for that kind of surgeries, according to the investigation report. The report revealed that there were critical errors committed during the surgery.