Khaberni - The Civil Court in Dubai has ruled that a medical center must pay 1.5 million dirhams in compensation to a patient after proving a grave medical error that involved incorrect diagnosis and unjustified treatment with high doses of cortisone, which caused her to suffer from osteoporosis and stress fractures in the hip joint, based on a report by the Medical Liability Committee of the Dubai Health Authority.
In detail, a patient filed a legal suit against a private medical center demanding it to pay compensation of three million dirhams, and a legal interest of 5% annually from the date of entitlement until the full payment, due to the physical and psychological damages that occurred following a wrong medical diagnosis.
The plaintiff explained that she visited a doctor at the center to evaluate her initial examination results, which indicated she had optic nerve inflammation. However, the doctor incorrectly diagnosed her with "myasthenia gravis" and began treating her with high doses of cortisone, reaching 50 mg daily for five days, then continued dispensing the drug in high doses for an extended period without medical justification.
The plaintiff stated that this procedure led to a deterioration in her health condition and the appearance of severe pain and osteoporosis, only to later discover -from another orthopedist- the existence of a stress fracture in the hip joint resulting from the excessive use of that drug.
Subsequently, she filed an official complaint with the Dubai Health Authority against both the doctor and the center.
The Medical Liability Committee's report confirmed that the doctor committed a professional error, characterized by ignorance of the technical matters that should be familiar to everyone practicing the profession in the same specialty, noting that he "ignored the test results that denied her having myasthenia gravis and continued to prescribe high doses of cortisone without justification or monitoring for side effects, which caused her serious health damage".
The report added that the doctor did not heed the advice of neurology consultants who recommended reducing the doses, nor did he review his diagnosis despite the worsening condition of the patient, confirming that the error was established with 100% certainty.
During the trial sessions, the defendant requested to refer the lawsuit back to the Medical Liability Committee for review of the report, based on the provisions of the executive regulations of the Federal Decree-Law No. (4) of 2016 regarding medical liability, but the court rejected the request as it was futile after it was proven that the report was final and not subject to appeal.
The defendant did not lodge any grievance against it before the competent supreme committee.
In the rationale of its judgment, the court clarified that the report of the Medical Liability Committee is considered a final technical opinion that resolves the issue of medical error, and that the denial of the error by the defendant is futile after negligence and ignorance of professional standards were proven.
It pointed out that the doctor committed an error during his duty and under the supervision of the medical center, which makes the center's responsibility viable as it is liable for the actions of its employee, according to Article 313 of the Civil Transactions Law.
The court confirmed that the subordinate relationship between the doctor and the center existed, and that the error occurred during the practice of medical work, which makes the center jointly responsible for compensation, explaining that the employer's responsibility arises even if he was not present or supervising at the time the error occurred, as long as the act was committed during or because of job performance.
Based on the evidence in the documents and medical reports, the court saw that the physical and psychological damage suffered by the plaintiff warranted the compensation.
It estimated the due amount to be 1.5 million dirhams as comprehensive compensation for physical and moral damages, in addition to an interest of 5% annually starting from the date the judgment became final until the full payment.
The court also ordered the medical center to pay the lawsuit fees, expenses, and an amount of two thousand dirhams as attorney's fees, and rejected any other claims.
