ABU DHABI // A newborn baby who lost one of her arms to gangrene because a hospital nurse forgot to check her drip, has had her compensation of Dh500,000 upheld by the Federal Supreme Court.
Baby A, who was born prematurely, had the arm amputated on April 28, 2006, after the blunder caused the condition to develop.
Her father sued the Sharjah hospital where she was born, demanding Dh5 million compensation. The Civil Court awarded Dh260,000 in financial compensation, Dh200,000 for emotional damages and ordered a blood money payment of Dh47,700.
However, the family appealed and the Appeals Court amended the verdict, increasing the amount of financial compensation to Dh500,000.
The hospital then appealed to the Federal Supreme Court, arguing that the nurse’s error was only partly to blame for the gangrene.
The court rejected this argument, but agreed with the hospital that because the girl was still alive her family should not be granted emotional compensation.
It cancelled the Dh200,000 award for emotional damages, but upheld the Dh500,000 award for financial compensation and blood money payment of Dh47,700.
hdajani@thenational.ae
