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Maldives News | Minivan News
A civil court judge yesterday ruled against awarding Rf7.1 million (US$550,000) in damages for medical negligence to the parents of a six-year-old girl who allegedly turned deaf after being given a series of antibiotic injections.
Ahmed Ihsan, father of Aishath Iyaan, who was aged three when she was given the shots, told Minivan News today that he was disappointed to hear the verdict and would lodge an appeal at High Court.
Shaheen Hameed, the family’s lawyer, said the civil court ruled the prosecution had been unable to prove negligence.
In April, expert witnesses submitted testimonies to court. In one, a paediatrician and an ear, nose and throat specialist testified that Iyaan had been administered an excessively high dose of the antibiotic Gentamicin.
One of the side effects of the drug is loss of hearing and balance.
The expert statement noted that doses of Gentamicin are given based on body weight and the girl’s medical records showed no evidence of her weight being documented.
Shaheen said the prosecution’s argument was based on the hospital’s failure to weigh Iyaan before administering the antibiotic.
“The girl’s father who was at the hospital at the time said they didn’t weigh the girl but the records show the weight was recorded on the reverse side of the documents,” he said. “So we challenged the authenticity of that.”
But, he said, the judge ruled that as professionals, doctors and nurses were bound by the Hippocratic Oath and under to sharia law, bad faith must be proven to secure a verdict.
Ihsan said the judge ruled that doctors have “good hearts”. But, said Ihsan, “Even doctors make mistakes.”
He pointed to the absence of an oversight mechanism to monitor the medical profession, such as the Police Integrity Commission and the Judicial Services Commission, which oversee the police force and judiciary.
Presiding Judge Mohamed Naeem said today there was a need for legislation for medical negligence to be drawn up.
“This is the first case of medical negligence in our court, that’s why we have had lots of problems...we are very new to such cases,” he said.
Slow recovery
Iyaan was taken to Thinadhoo Regional Hospital in 2007 after suffering a fever and a swollen arm. Doctors operated on her twice and, Ihsan says, gave her five 80mg shots of Gentamicin.
Soon after, Iyaan complained of a blockage in her ears and medical tests revealed she was completely deaf. Both local and foreign doctors confirmed her condition was related to the antibiotic.
After examining Iyaan, one doctor, Mauroof Hussein, who worked at Male’s Indira Gandhi Memorial Hospital, wrote she “had developed sudden, profound nerve deafness of both ears, probably due to ototoxicity caused by Gentamicin.”
In court, said Ihsan, the defence argued that 15 per cent of people suffer from the side effects of Gentamicin, even if the correct dosage is given.
Last year, Iyaan was flown to Sri Lanka to undergo surgery for cochlear implants using funds raised from donors. The operation was a success but without the prescribed speech therapy, her father says, one year on she can only say a few words.
While the doctors recommended five years of speech therapy, he said, Iyaan has only had eight months as the treatment is not available in the Maldives. In April, Ihsan said to Minivan News, “If we win we can then go to Sri Lanka for her rehabilitation.”
He added that children with cochlear implants needed to have their implants re-programmed every three month but with no doctor able to make the adjustments in the Maldives, Ihsan’s only choice is to fly to Sri Lanka, which is costly.
As a result, Iyaan has not had her implant re-programmed for some time now, says Ihsan, and her hearing is no longer as clear as it used to be.
Cochlear implants are unique to its user and constantly change. Over time, sound will become less clear if it is not re-programmed.
To date, Ihsan estimates he has spent more than Rf2 million (US$156,000) on his daughter and has been able to raise the money thanks to the generosity of friends, family and other donors.
But, he says he wonders how others could cope. “Everybody isn’t like me, I have a lot of friends and family. How would others manage?”
A civil court judge yesterday ruled against awarding Rf7.1 million (US$550,000) in damages for medical negligence to the parents of a six-year-old girl who allegedly turned deaf after being given a series of antibiotic injections.
Ahmed Ihsan, father of Aishath Iyaan, who was aged three when she was given the shots, told Minivan News today that he was disappointed to hear the verdict and would lodge an appeal at High Court.
Shaheen Hameed, the family’s lawyer, said the civil court ruled the prosecution had been unable to prove negligence.
In April, expert witnesses submitted testimonies to court. In one, a paediatrician and an ear, nose and throat specialist testified that Iyaan had been administered an excessively high dose of the antibiotic Gentamicin.
One of the side effects of the drug is loss of hearing and balance.
The expert statement noted that doses of Gentamicin are given based on body weight and the girl’s medical records showed no evidence of her weight being documented.
Shaheen said the prosecution’s argument was based on the hospital’s failure to weigh Iyaan before administering the antibiotic.
“The girl’s father who was at the hospital at the time said they didn’t weigh the girl but the records show the weight was recorded on the reverse side of the documents,” he said. “So we challenged the authenticity of that.”
But, he said, the judge ruled that as professionals, doctors and nurses were bound by the Hippocratic Oath and under to sharia law, bad faith must be proven to secure a verdict.
Ihsan said the judge ruled that doctors have “good hearts”. But, said Ihsan, “Even doctors make mistakes.”
He pointed to the absence of an oversight mechanism to monitor the medical profession, such as the Police Integrity Commission and the Judicial Services Commission, which oversee the police force and judiciary.
Presiding Judge Mohamed Naeem said today there was a need for legislation for medical negligence to be drawn up.
“This is the first case of medical negligence in our court, that’s why we have had lots of problems...we are very new to such cases,” he said.
Slow recovery
Iyaan was taken to Thinadhoo Regional Hospital in 2007 after suffering a fever and a swollen arm. Doctors operated on her twice and, Ihsan says, gave her five 80mg shots of Gentamicin.
Soon after, Iyaan complained of a blockage in her ears and medical tests revealed she was completely deaf. Both local and foreign doctors confirmed her condition was related to the antibiotic.
After examining Iyaan, one doctor, Mauroof Hussein, who worked at Male’s Indira Gandhi Memorial Hospital, wrote she “had developed sudden, profound nerve deafness of both ears, probably due to ototoxicity caused by Gentamicin.”
In court, said Ihsan, the defence argued that 15 per cent of people suffer from the side effects of Gentamicin, even if the correct dosage is given.
Last year, Iyaan was flown to Sri Lanka to undergo surgery for cochlear implants using funds raised from donors. The operation was a success but without the prescribed speech therapy, her father says, one year on she can only say a few words.
While the doctors recommended five years of speech therapy, he said, Iyaan has only had eight months as the treatment is not available in the Maldives. In April, Ihsan said to Minivan News, “If we win we can then go to Sri Lanka for her rehabilitation.”
He added that children with cochlear implants needed to have their implants re-programmed every three month but with no doctor able to make the adjustments in the Maldives, Ihsan’s only choice is to fly to Sri Lanka, which is costly.
As a result, Iyaan has not had her implant re-programmed for some time now, says Ihsan, and her hearing is no longer as clear as it used to be.
Cochlear implants are unique to its user and constantly change. Over time, sound will become less clear if it is not re-programmed.
To date, Ihsan estimates he has spent more than Rf2 million (US$156,000) on his daughter and has been able to raise the money thanks to the generosity of friends, family and other donors.
But, he says he wonders how others could cope. “Everybody isn’t like me, I have a lot of friends and family. How would others manage?”