Dubai: Doctors and two hospitals involved in a surgery to cure finger stiffness that led to permanent disability to a woman patient have been ordered to pay Dh100,000 compensation.
According to Dubai Courts, the victim, a female bank employee, was diagnosed with sclerodactyly in her finger after a botched treatment procedure by two surgeons working at two different private hospitals in Dubai.
Records revealed that the 38-year-old woman first went to a private hospital for treatment in her right ring finger after an incident involving a car door. X-ray revealed there was a fracture in the finger, but her condition did not improve even after 17 days of treatment.
She then met an orthopaedic specialist at a second hospital, who conducted a surgery on the finger, a month after she sustained finger stiffness.
Two months later, another doctor at a third hospital conducted a second surgical procedure that led to further stiffness in her finger.
She then lodged complaints with Dubai Health Authority against the three hospitals and the doctors involved. A special enquiry committee held two of the doctors responsible for causing sclerodactyly. The report confirmed medical malpractice as a surgery one or two months after the incident was not advisable in such a situation.
The victim’s lawyer, Mohammad Al Najar, said that his client couldn’t use her finger while working on the computer at her workplace. “She was shocked due to the botched treatments that followed. She felt the pain every time she tried using her hand. The medical report explained what should have been done and the mistakes in diagnosis and treatment,” said Al Najar. He asked the court to grant Dh400,000 in compensation to his client.
The court cleared the first hospital of any negligence as it had conducted a conservative treatment only, without a surgery. However, the court found the other two hospitals and the two doctors there guilty of botched treatment and ordered them to pay Dh100,000 to the affected woman in compensation.
