Doctors ordered to pay Dh1 million after fatal misdiagnosis

A Dubai Civil Court has ordered three doctors and two medical centres they work for to jointly pay Dh1 million in compensation to the family of a 42-year-old man who died following what the court described as gross medical negligence, Emarat Al Youm reported.

According to case filings, the patient sought treatment at a private medical centre in another emirate, which operates as a branch of a facility in Dubai. Despite presenting with varying symptoms, a series of diagnostic and clinical errors led to his condition deteriorating rapidly, culminating in his death days later.

A report by the Higher Medical Liability Committee found that the level of care provided by all three doctors failed to meet recognised medical standards, citing “gross ignorance of fundamental medical principles” and serious deficiencies in both diagnosis and follow-up care. The report defined clear professional violations and assigned specific degrees of fault to each doctor.

During hearings, the defendants argued that the case should be dismissed for lack of legal standing and requested the file be returned to the committee for further review, including a site visit and reassessment of the patient’s medical file. They also contended that causation was not proven, claiming the patient had an aggressive form of cancer which might have resulted in death regardless of timely intervention.

The court rejected all arguments, ruling that the criminal judgment issued earlier — which confirmed the medical errors — remains binding on civil proceedings. It stated that the committee’s report is final and cannot be re-evaluated, given it was based on clear scientific grounds.

The court held that all elements of civil liability were fulfilled: the error was proven through expert findings, the damage was established by the patient’s death and the loss of the family’s sole provider, and causation existed between misdiagnosis and the fatal outcome.

The two medical centres were held jointly liable as employers, since the medical errors occurred under their supervision and during the course of employment.

Compensation was allocated according to the degree of fault: Dh400,000 for the first doctor, Dh350,000 for the second, and Dh250,000 for the third, with the medical centres sharing liability proportionally. All defendants were also ordered to cover legal fees and court costs.

The court said the compensation aims to remedy both material and emotional harm suffered by the victim’s family.