Man loses testicles after surgery, wins Dh900,000 in damages

abu dhabi — A patient, who had his testicles removed after a hernia treatment that went wrong, has been awarded Dh900,000 in damages.

The Federal Supreme Court in Abu Dhabi upheld an earlier ruling by a lower court that ordered a hospital and a doctor to pay the compensation for causing him a permanent disability.

The court documents said that the Arab man filed a lawsuit against the hospital in a northern emirate and its doctor when he suffered severe pain in his testes after undergoing a surgery at the hospital.

He had reportedly gone to the hospital to be treated for hernia in the testes. After being diagnosed, he was referred to a surgical specialist, who decided to perform a surgery under general anaesthesia without informing the patient of the likely results of the operation.

After the treatment, the patient reportedly began to feel a lot of pain which increased a few days after leaving the hospital and he couldn’t sleep. The man returned to the hospital where he performed ultrasound tests, which showed that his left testicle had atrophied. The man had to visit other hospitals and doctors finally decided to remove his testes.

A medical report said that the patient suffered 100 per cent permanent disability in his testicles and sexual function. The court of first instance had ordered the hospital and the doctor to pay Dh500,000 to the patient after they were found guilty of medical negligence.

The man, however, challenged the verdict to the appeal court which increased the compensation to Dh900,000.

The hospital and the doctor went to the UAE’s top court which rejected their appeal and maintained the ruling by the appeal court. The man had demanded Dh5 million from the hospital and the doctor as compensation.

ismail@khaleejtimes.com