Processes - Final judgment against doctor after death of nine-year-old boy
The judgment of the Hamburg District Court against an ENT doctor for bodily harm resulting in death is valid. The 5th Criminal Senate of the Federal Court of Justice in Leipzig dismissed the defendant's appeal with a decision on June 18, the court announced. The review of the judgment did not reveal any legal errors to the detriment of the defendant, it was stated.
The Hamburg District Court had sentenced the then 65-year-old defendant on June 8, 2023, to a fine of 150 daily rates of €440 each for bodily harm resulting in death. At the same time, the court declared that the fine was to be fully enforced as compensation for an excessively long trial period.
The child died due to brain damage from oxygen deprivation
The defendant ENT doctor had performed a reduction of the nasal cartilage on a nine-year-old boy in his practice on March 14, 2007. The operation went smoothly, and the anesthetized patient was placed in a stable position in the recovery room. When the doctor brought the next operated child into the recovery room ten minutes later, he found that the boy was not breathing. The boy died a week later from severe brain damage caused by oxygen deprivation.
The cause, according to the court, was a common complication in such surgeries: a bleeding that had blocked the child's airways. Since the cough reflex was suppressed due to the still acting anesthesia, this had led to suffocation. According to the court's reasoning, the patient's death could have been prevented if the then valid medical standards had been observed.
Among other things, it should have been necessary to continuously monitor the oxygen saturation of the blood using a pulse oximeter. Furthermore, it was necessary to ensure that the breathing of the child was monitored continuously by trained personnel. These precautions were, however, not regularly taken in the defendant's practice.
- The Consequence of the defendant's negligence during the surgery led to the child's death.
- The Regional Court in Leipzig upheld the judgment against the ENT doctor for causing Bodily injury resulting in death.
- The Process of continuously monitoring the oxygen saturation and breathing of the patient, as per medical standards, could have prevented the tragic outcome.
- The Federal Court of Justice in Hamburg rejected the defendant's appeal, acknowledging no legal errors in the original judgment.
