Judge throws out Dubai doctors' appeal against jail term for botched nose job

Three medics will be deported after a one-year prison term for leaving Emirati patient Rowda Almaeeni with brain damage

Isa Bin Haider said Ms Almaeeni's family will pursue damages in the civil courts, after a judge threw out an appeal by three doctors that were found guilty of medical negligence. Courtesy: Bin Haider AdvocatesShow less

Doctors who botched a nose job leaving an Emirati woman with catastrophic brain injuries had their appeal against a prison term thrown out.

A one-year sentence for three medics – a surgeon, 59, from the Dominican Republic, an anaesthetist, 65, and a technician, 69, both from Syria – was upheld by Dubai Court of Cassation.

First Med Day Surgery Centre in Deira, where the operation on Rowda Almaeeni, 26, took place in April 2019, was fined Dh300,000.

Lawyers acting on behalf of Ms Almaeeni will now pursue compensation in the civil courts.

“Criminal justice has been served to the victim Rowda Almaeeni and confirmed the Court of Appeal judgment to be final and not subject to appeal,” said Isa bin Haider, chief executive of Bin Haider Advocates and Legal Consultants.

“The judiciary has vindicated the victim and ordered this punishment to be a deterrent to any other negligent doctor and assistant.”

Ms Almaeeni spent months in hospital in the US before returning to the Emirates to undergo four more months of rehabilitation at a specialist centre in Abu Dhabi.

She suffered a cardiac arrest during the two-hour procedure and her brain was starved of oxygen for seven minutes, causing severe brain damage, the court heard.

The three medics were told to pay Dh51,000 each in compensation for their roles in what was supposed to be a routine surgery to correct a nasal defect.

The men were convicted of medical malpractice and will be deported on completion of their sentence. The clinic did not have its licence revoked and was allowed to stay open.

Dubai's health authorities have tightened rules around patient safety in the wake of the Almaeeni case.

All day surgery centres must have international accreditation within 18 months of opening to show a high quality of care.

Those failing to achieve the required standards are downgraded to clinic status, which means the procedures they can provide are far more limited.

Ms Almaeeni’s family campaigned for harsher penalties to prevent future cases of malpractice.

“This tragedy, made due to the negligence and non-compliance of the surgeon and his assistants, must not reoccur,” Mr bin Haider said.

"We are in the process of filing a lawsuit with the civil court to pursue compensatory damages for the loss occurred, noting that any monetary value cannot undo such damages.”

First Med Day Surgery Centre in Deira, Dubai. Antonie Robertson / The National