Couple win Dh100,000 in damages

9- YEAR- OLD GIRL UNDERWENT OPERATION BUT HEARING DEVICE WAS NOT IMPLANTED

Their daughter went under knife but surgeon did not perform procedure

The parents of a child who needed surgery to improve her hearing are to receive Dh100,000 in damages after it was revealed the procedure was never performed. The Civil Court of First Instance heard the surgeon had merely opened the girl’s ear but had not done anything. None of the hospital staff noticed what had happened despite X- rays being taken. Both the surgeon and hospital will pay the damages.

The child’s parents had initially sought Dh2 million in compensation for the delay in the nine- year- old’s speech, hearing and educational development.

According to court documents, the girl was born with hearing difficulties and underwent her first cochlear implant ( device that provides a sense of sound to a person who is pro- foundly deaf or severely hard of hearing) when she was two years old. After a while, the hearing aids stopped functioning properly and a second surgical procedure for both ears was required.

Device not installed

“The court’s medical examiners confirmed that the victim required surgery, which was not performed. After a long time had passed, it was discovered that the doctor had not installed the device and had merely opened up the patient’s right ear and closed it back again without making any changes. The hospital’s X- ray team and other departments also failed to notice this shortcoming,” court documents added.