A Dubai civil court has awarded AED 2 million in damages to the husband and two children of a Gulf woman who died following complications during delivery, holding a private hospital and four physicians financially liable for errors that the court said directly caused her death.
In its judgment, the court relied on findings from a concluded criminal case that established gross medical negligence by the four doctors. Each physician had previously been fined AED 50,000 and ordered to pay Islamic blood money to the woman’s heirs. The civil bench stated that it was bound by those criminal findings with respect to the existence of medical error and responsibility, according to reporting by Gulf News.
Court records show that the patient was undergoing her second pregnancy through in-vitro fertilisation, a factor that required heightened medical vigilance. Following childbirth, she developed severe post-partum hemorrhaging. The court found that the response to the bleeding lacked the urgency and competence required, resulting in a rapid decline in her condition and her subsequent death. The details were earlier reported by Emarat Al Youm.
An expert assessment by Dubai’s Higher Committee for Medical Liability determined that the medical care provided did not meet accepted professional standards. The committee concluded that the failure to control the bleeding in a timely manner was the immediate cause of death and characterized the incident as negligence rather than an unavoidable medical outcome.
In assigning civil liability, the court ruled that the hospital was vicariously responsible for the actions of its doctors and recognized that the family suffered not only financial harm but also moral and psychological damage. The compensation amount was divided among the defendants based on each party’s degree of fault.
