Court orders 2 doctors to pay Saudi woman SR52,500 in compensation for medical error
The General Court in Riyadh issued a verdict obliging a male doctor and female doctor to pay compensation, amounting to SR52,500, to a Saudi woman for committing a medical error while treating her.
The court clarified that the woman patient’s medical report and the opinion of experts in it proved that the two doctors had committed 100 percent medical error in the treatment plan, which caused damage to the woman’s molars and part of her gums.
The ruling came after the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Health recently announced the completion of the transfer of the jurisdiction of the legitimate health bodies from the Ministry of Health to the general judiciary.
The Supreme Judiciary Council established a number of specialized departments to handle such disputes in the Court of Appeal and the General Court in Riyadh, where judges and their assistants were trained and qualified, in order to ensure quality and accuracy in the judicial verdicts issued over these disputes.
The Ministry of Justice also provided a simultaneous translation service for remote court sessions for non-Arabic speakers through the Unified Translation Center at the ministry, in addition to cooperating with the Commission for Health Specialties through the ‘Khibrah’ platform to provide the experts required by medical error claims.
The Ministry stated that the terms of reference of the legitimate health bodies that will be examined by the courts are cases of medical errors, consideration of health professional errors related to private rights such as blood money, compensation, as well as health professional errors that result in death, damage to organs of the human body, or loss of its benefit or even some of the benefits, even if there is no claim for a private right.
The Ministry will also consider the responsibility of private health institutions for professional medical errors related to private or public rights.
The ruling came after the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Health recently announced the completion of the transfer of the jurisdiction of the legitimate health bodies from the Ministry of Health to the general judiciary.
The Supreme Judiciary Council established a number of specialized departments to handle such disputes in the Court of Appeal and the General Court in Riyadh, where judges and their assistants were trained and qualified, in order to ensure quality and accuracy in the judicial verdicts issued over these disputes.
The Ministry of Justice also provided a simultaneous translation service for remote court sessions for non-Arabic speakers through the Unified Translation Center at the ministry, in addition to cooperating with the Commission for Health Specialties through the ‘Khibrah’ platform to provide the experts required by medical error claims.
The Ministry stated that the terms of reference of the legitimate health bodies that will be examined by the courts are cases of medical errors, consideration of health professional errors related to private rights such as blood money, compensation, as well as health professional errors that result in death, damage to organs of the human body, or loss of its benefit or even some of the benefits, even if there is no claim for a private right.
The Ministry will also consider the responsibility of private health institutions for professional medical errors related to private or public rights.
