UAE Supreme Court upholds malpractice ruling against doctor

The Federal Supreme Court has rejected a doctor’s appeal against a previous ruling that held him liable for medical malpractice. The medical error resulted in a patient suffering permanent disability and varying degrees of physical incapacity. The court based its decision on case files and documents, specifically a report by the Supreme Committee for Medical Liability that confirmed the doctor’s negligence and medical error.

The appellate ruling upheld the initial judgment rejecting the doctor’s lawsuit. This was supported by case documents and attachments, including the Supreme Committee for Medical Liability’s report. The report concluded that the care provided by the doctor failed to meet recognized medical standards and constituted a non-serious medical error. Specifically, the doctor erred by failing to install a ureteral stent after a dilation procedure failed to clear a narrowing in the ureter, which caused an injury to the right ureter.

The Supreme Committee’s report also stated that the medical error necessitated the resection and reconnection of the patient’s intestines, resulting in a permanent disability. This intestinal impairment was estimated at approximately 10% of the original organ condition. Additionally, sectioning the intestines to reconstruct and repair the ureter resulted in a further permanent disability, with impairment estimated at roughly 25% of the right ureter’s original condition. In its rationale, the Federal Supreme Court affirmed that the documentation was sufficient to establish the doctor’s liability and proved that his error was the direct, effective medical cause of the patient’s condition.

The court emphasized that it holds broad discretionary authority when deciding whether to appoint an expert. If the presented evidence is sufficient to resolve the case, the court may reject requests for expert appointments. Furthermore, the court noted that the doctor’s objections to the appellate ruling were refuted by the grounds established in the initial judgment. The appeal amounted to an argument over the trial court’s authority to interpret facts and evaluate evidence, which falls outside the Supreme Court’s oversight, thereby requiring the dismissal of the appeal.