UAE's top court quashes Dh3.8m compensation over medical negligence

A report by a medical committee appointed by the court said the child suffered spastic body paralysis, brain loss.

A case in which a UAE hospital and an insurance firm were ordered to pay Dh3.8 million in damages to the parents of a child who became paralyzed after a botched treatment will be heard afresh. The Federal Supreme Court in Abu Dhabi has canceled the ruling by the appellate court, which had found the hospital guilty of a medical error during treatment which caused paralysis, loss of speech and sight to the child.

Court documents stated that the child, who was below five, was admitted at the hospital's emergency section in a northern emirate after suffering from breathing problems. Her condition later worsened after receiving treatment and she was shifted to the intensive care unit, where she was allegedly left with a hospital worker, who was not a qualified medical practitioner.

The girl's health condition further deteriorated and her heart almost stopped when a doctor intervened and saved her life. The child was later transferred to a government hospital, where she remained bedridden after getting paralyzed.

The Arab parents filed a lawsuit against the first hospital, seeking Dh10 million in moral and material damages caused due to the botched treatment.

A report by a medical committee appointed by the court said the child suffered spastic body paralysis, brain loss, loss of speech and could no longer control urine. It concluded that the child would require continuous medical and nursing care throughout her life.

The court of the first instance had ordered the hospital, doctor and their insurance firm to pay Dh3.8 million in damages after finding them guilty of medical negligence.