Three doctors involved in a botched nose surgery that sent an Emirati woman into a coma in 2019 must pay Dh10 million ($2.7m) in compensation to the victim, a Dubai court ruled on Wednesday.
Dubai Civil Court said the compensation should be jointly paid by the doctors and the medical centre where they worked.
The father of the Emirati patient said the amount could have been ‘a lot more’ to set an example and deter others.
“Nothing will compensate me and I wish it would be a lot more to set an example for underqualified people who work as doctors,” said Abdullah Rashed, 51.
“They earn a monthly income of nearly Dh4m and we asked for a Dh30m compensation.”
The doctors, who worked at First Med Day Surgery Centre in Dubai, were sentenced to one year in prison on medical malpractice charges in March 2020.
The surgeon, 59, from the Dominican Republic, Syrian anaesthetist, 65, and technician, 69, failed to detect a drop in Rowdha Rashed Almaeeni’s blood pressure during the operation in April 2019.
Ms Almaeeni, 27, suffered a cardiac arrest and her brain was starved of oxygen for seven minutes, causing severe brain damage.
The medics had to pay a Dh51,000 fine and the clinic paid Dh300,000.
Ms Almaeeni remains in a coma at the family’s home following unsuccessful treatment at a hospital in the US.