Hospital told to pay for negligence

RIGA - The Latvian Supreme Court ruled on Feb. 7 that a hospital should pay 32,000 lats ($51,500) in compensation to a patient who found himself permanently disabled due to a doctorÕs error. This is the first ruling of its kind since the restoration of the countryÕs independence in 1991.

Twenty-five-year-old Edijs Filipsons suffered a back injury in a serious road accident in September 1997, when his motorcycle collided with a car.

Filipsons, who was able to walk after the accident but had debilitating back pains, was taken to the State Traumatology and Orthopedic Hospital where he was offered an operation without being warned about the possibility of serious complications.

The surgery was performed Oct. 2, 1997. The patientÕs condition worsened the same night. The screws used to hold the patientÕs spine together touched his spinal cord and led directly to paralysis. A repeat operation took place only on Oct. 7. According to experts, it should have taken place no more than six hours after the first operation.

The delayed operation drastically reduced FilipsonsÕ chances of recovery. Experts brought in at the trial assessed the actions of the doctor who performed the surgery, Egils Strauss, as negligent.

Filipsons filed a claim against the hospital demanding more than 50,000 lats as compensation for his pain and suffering and inability to seek employment.

FilipsonsÕ lawyer Agris Bitans said his client deserves the compensation for his pain, lack of comfort and for the miserable situation he has found himself in since the operation. He said that the hospital was directly responsible for all this as it had admitted the possibility of low quality treatment.

He said the hospital's guilt is obvious. ÒHe walked into the hospital on his own two feet. He left it in a wheelchair.Ó

The Traumatology and Orthopedic Hospital, however, will try to appeal against the sentence in the Supreme CourtÕs Senate, said chief doctor Valdis Zatlers. ÒBut the chances of winning are slim,Ó he told The Baltic Times on Feb. 13.

ÒThe amount we have to pay is scandalous. For 32,000 lats Filipsons could be treated in a hospital for 10 years.Ó

Zatlers said that the hospital will not try to claim the money back from Strauss. ÒTo return the money he would have to work for free until he retires,Ó Zatlers stressed.

He said that the atmosphere in the hospital after the sentence was "nervous" and patients were worried about their own condition.

Filipsons has consulted with specialists from Israel and Moscow, who have said that total recovery is impossible. ÒI can only stand if there is something to hold to,Ó he told the Latvian evening newspaper Rigas Balss. ÒI work out eight hours a day, so I can feel a small improvement every year.Ó

He now makes accessories for violins to earn some money.

Filipsons said he is ready to fight to the end, all the way up to the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg. ÒItÕs a matter of principle. I will not let them abuse me,Ó he said.

ÒMany people do not believe they would be able to achieve anything. PeopleÕs X-rays and health cards often get lost. But I have all my records and my case is provable. I was a walking man, and I woke up disabled,Ó Filipsons says.

Zatlers disagrees. ÒNeither doctors nor patients can benefit from a situation like this. It was a great misfortune. It only benefits lawyers.Ó