Dh2.5m payout for patient left paralysed after hospital bed broke during surgery

Abu Dhabi Civil Court ordered a medical company to pay the Arab patient, who suffered a fractured neck vertebra and a dilated spinal cord when the headrest of the surgery bed broke while he was undergoing surgery for a ruptured disc.

Powered by automated translation

A man who was paralysed after his bed broke under him during surgery has won a Dh2.5m payout.

Abu Dhabi Civil Court ordered a medical company to pay the Arab patient, who suffered a fractured neck vertebra and a dilated spinal cord when the headrest of the surgery bed broke while he was undergoing surgery for a ruptured disc.

The injury caused him 80 per cent paralysis in his upper and lower limbs.

Both the appeals court and the cassation court of Abu Dhabi upheld the ruling.

The patient filed a legal claim against a hospital and the hospital's management company for physical, financial, psychological and moral damages.

The preliminary court acquitted the hospital but held the medical company fully accountable, since it is responsible for the safety of medical equipment in the hospital.

newsdesk@thenational.ae