KUWAIT CITY, Nov 21: Based on a new judicial principle as per which an incorrect medical diagnosis obligates the person who did the diagnosis to compensate the affected patient even if there is no material damage, the Civil Court of Appeals ruled in favor of a Kuwaiti woman and obligated a private hospital to pay her KD 8,800, which is the value of the final moral compensation and the legal fees due to an error in diagnosis. In detail, the Kuwaiti woman went to a private hospital for the diagnosis of her condition, but the hospital doctors did not diagnose her condition correctly.

The case was referred to forensic medicine, which concluded the lack of evidence to prove that the hospital staff violated medical principles in dealing with the plaintiff’s case. The Court of First Instance hence ruled to reject the compensation claim because it lacked support. During the court session, the defense counsel representing the Kuwaiti woman Lawyer Dr. Fawaz Al-Khatib highlighted the error of the ruling in applying the law and its corruption in reasoning, and basing the ruling on a deficient forensic medical report. As a result, the Court of Appeals assigned a tripartite committee of professors from the Faculty of Medicine at Kuwait University to look into the matter.

The committee issued a finding that the hospital doctor’s diagnosis was inaccurate and that the doctor did not mention details that should have been included in the diagnosis, which is considered negligence. After receiving the report, to which the hospital had objected, the court reassigned the same committee to examine the objections. After submitting the report, the court reserved the case for judgment and issued the aforementioned ruling. Regarding the justification, the court, in its ruling, stated that it is sufficient in estimating compensation for moral damage that it be to the extent that it consoles the injured person and relieves her of the feelings of sadness and grief that befell her, without exaggeration or extravagance. Without a doubt, she suffered from pain, sadness, grief, and psychological stress as a result of the hospital staff’s error in diagnosing her medical condition.

By Jaber Al-Hamoud
Al-Seyassah/Arab Times Staff