Hospital, doctor to pay Dh1.4 million to family of patient who died after laparoscopic surgery

Abu Dhabi: The Abu Dhabi Court of Cassation has upheld a ruling requiring a hospital and a doctor to jointly pay Dh1.4 million in compensation to the family of a patient who died following a laparoscopic surgery, Al Khaleej newspaper reported.

Court documents show that the patient underwent a laparoscopic procedure at the hospital, after which he was admitted to intensive care for monitoring.

The Abu Dhabi Department of Health’s Medical Liability Committee found that the medical care provided in the ICU was marred by a “non-severe medical error”, specifically the failure to handle the patient’s post-operative critical condition according to accepted standards, which led to his deterioration and eventual death.

The committee determined that the attending critical-care consultant bore 50 per cent responsibility for failing to recognise and respond to the patient’s worsening condition in a timely manner. The hospital was found equally liable for failing to ensure adequate specialist staffing in the ICU and for allowing a general practitioner to oversee a high-risk case.

Because the negligence occurred during the physician’s period of employment, the court ruled that the hospital and the doctor are jointly liable for compensating the patient’s family. The judgment increased the damages from Dh1.2 million, awarded by a lower court, to Dh1.4 million.

The court noted that the compensation covers both material losses, including the loss of the family’s main breadwinner, and emotional distress suffered by the widow and the couple’s minor children. Finding no legal basis to overturn the ruling, the Court of Cassation dismissed the appeal, rendering the decision final.