The three doctors, including a surgeon, an anaesthesiologist and an anaesthetic technician, are accused of malpractice and negligence.
The trial of three doctors accused of medical malpractice and negligence in a botched surgery that left an Emirati woman permanently disabled began on Monday at the Dubai Court of Misdemeanors.
The three doctors, including a surgeon, an anaesthesiologist and an anaesthetic technician, are accused of malpractice and negligence during the surgery of 24-year-old Rowda Al Maeeni. The procedure was to correct a minor nose defect.
However, after the surgery went wrong, Al Maeeni lost all her mental and physical abilities including her sight and hearing. She fell into a coma after the surgery, suffering a 100 per cent disability. Because of the surgery, Al Maeeni became totally dependent on others and in need of constant and round the clock medical assistance and nurse care.
Only one doctor showed up for the hearing. He denied the charge.
The judge postponed the trial until a later date to ensure that the other accused had been notified about the hearing.
Dubai attorney-general Issam Issa Al Humaidan referred the case to the court earlier this month. An investigation conducted by the Dubai Public Prosecution, which had medical reports – mainly the final report by the Higher Committee for Medical Liability in the UAE – as evidence, found that the medics committed serious mistakes that caused major health problems to the patient.
The three doctors had their licences suspended by the Dubai Health Authority (DHA) and the medical centre, where they worked, was ordered closed until further notice.
A final report by the Higher Committee for Medical Liability in the UAE released in November last year blamed the three doctors for the severe deterioration in the health condition of Al Maeeni.
The case dates back to April last year when the patient visited the medical centre because of some breathing difficulty. She was then advised to undergo a surgery to fix a bone in her nose. The surgery was scheduled at the one-day-surgery medical centre, which is not suitable for that kind of surgeries, according to the investigation report. That report revealed that there were critical errors during that surgery.
Issa bin Haidar, who is representing the patient in the civil lawsuit, requested the court to cross-examine the chairman of the Higher Committee for Medical Liability about the final report.
