Family of brain-injured man seek $58m in damages from hospital
Father of four left bedridden and in need of life-long care after procedure in Dubai
The transformation of Imran Hussein from company executive to a bedridden patient with the mental capacity of a toddler is heartbreaking.
Frustrating for his family is that his condition, confined to a hospital bed thousands of miles from his family in Canada, might have been avoidable.
Damages of US$58 million (Dh213m) are being sought from the doctor who treated Mr Hussein, 50, and the hospital in which he was a patient.
The father of four needs 24hour care for the rest of his life.
Each hour, nurses vacuum mucus from his throat to stop him choking because he is unable to swallow.
The only person he recognises is his brother, Amjad, who was there when he opened his eyes after his condition changed. He did not recognise his mother.
While his legal case is yet to be resolved in Dubai Civil Courts, Amjad is facing medical bills of more than Dh1.7m to pay for Mr Hussein’s care at Mediclinic’s City Hospital in Dubai Healthcare City.
His insurance company has refused to pay out because of the court proceedings.
“When we heard about Imran needing surgery, we advised him to go to the US, Canada or even Pakistan, but he stayed in Dubai,” said Amjad, who has moved to Dubai from Bahrain to support his brother.
“The whole family was in America, as our mother just had a major heart surgery. We thought Dubai offered good medical treatment and promotes medical tourism, so it should be OK for him.”
Routine angioplasty surgery, which opens blocked arteries and restores normal bloodflow to the heart, was successfully performed in Garhoud, before Mr Hussein was transferred to City Hospital for another procedure on August 3 last year.
A week later, his condition took a catastrophic turn.
While Mr Hussein was in recovery, it is claimed that cardiac surgeon Dr Uwe Klima removed epicardial pacing wires and left him, without instructions for the team of nurses and doctors responsible for his care.
The wires act as a failsafe during surgery and provide quick access to a temporary pulse generator that helps notify doctors if there is a problem.
The review of the case by an independent panel of experts said a cardiac tamponade occurred, where fluid collects and compresses the heart, starving the brain of oxygen and causing irreparable damage.
The condition was not picked up by his carers and it is claimed there is no record of staff checking his vital signs for 80 minutes after the wires were removed.
His family alleges that a breach of the basic standard of care occurred. As a result of the delay, the care Mr Hussein needed was not offered until it was too late.
Amjad is claiming a discrepancy in the timing of interventions by the medical team, and that the following investigation was insufficient.
Although City Hospital was at first deemed at fault for mismanagement by Dubai Healthcare City Authority, its appeal was accepted and the decision overturned.
The only sanction handed out by a fitness to practice panel was a three-month ban for Dr Klima. He has served that suspension and returned to practice.
The authority was asked for details of the committee that oversaw the investigation, but their names and qualifications have not been revealed.
“DHCA would not allow us to appoint our own independent doctors to interact with the committee,” Amjad said.
“They didn’t respond to my emails properly, which was hugely frustrating. Anywhere else in the world when there is a case like this you look at the evidence and discuss and debate what went wrong.”
The family said it sought opinions from doctors in America, Egypt and the UK, all of whom, they say, have examined case notes and agreed it was a cardiac tamponade.
A case submitted to Dubai Civil Courts is claiming the $58m in compensation to cover the cost of Mr Hussein’s ongoing care, and the loss of earnings from his Dh50,000 salary as an executive at Dow Chemicals.
In its first ruling, the authority found there was no professional misconduct or negligence, but said there was mismanagement in dealing with and recognising cardiac tamponade.
The hospital was warned for failing to provide a replacement cardiac surgeon to monitor Mr Hussain in Dr Klima’s absence, although in a later email to the family the authority’s director of clinical affairs said an appeal by the hospital had been accepted and only the mismanagement charge against the doctor stood.
“In this particular case, the appeals board revoked the decision made against the hospital and upheld the decision of the fitness to practice panel against the concerned doctor,” said Dr Ramadan Al Blooshi, chief executive of the authority’s regulatory department.
“Any case that is criminal in nature or related to monetary compensation is outside the jurisdiction of the DHCC free zone.”
Mediclinic said it had been cleared of any wrongdoing by the authority but could not comment further because of the civil court case.
Anywhere else when there is a case like this you look at the evidence and discuss and debate what went wrong AMJAD HUSSEIN Patient’s brother