Health Ministry ordered to pay BD29,000 over Medical Negligence

The Second High Civil Court yesterday ordered the Health Ministry to pay BD29,000 in compensation to the relatives of a dead man on charges of medical negligence. The victim, the court found, was discharged from Salmaniya Medical Complex (SMC) back in 2014 without providing necessary treatment.

Case files say the deceased was taken to SMC on February 21, 2014, with knife wounds following an attack by two men. The victim sustained a deep cut in his chest, which damaged his cardiac membrane (the pericardium). This caused a haemorrhage in the crystalline membrane of the lung and leakage of blood to the lung. The hospital discharged him on February 23 without confirming if the bleeding has stopped.

Soon the man’s condition deteriorated, leading to his death on March 2, 2014. The cause of death was later found to be bleeding, which contradicted the discharge summary claiming otherwise. The deceased’s parents and siblings demanded compensation and accused the hospital of medical negligence and disregard of the deceased’s condition.

Abdulrahman Ghunaim, the family’s attorney, told the court that the man’s death impacted his parents and six brothers as he was the sole breadwinner. The victim also left behind financial obligations.