A Spanish dentist is suing Bulawayo’s Mater Dei Hospital together with its ear and nose specialist doctor for more than $500 000 for an alleged botched operation that left her disfigured.
BY SILAS NKALA
Ivette Dominguez Van Der Hevon is demanding $509 600 from the private hospital and its medical doctor Predrag Maksimovich for trauma and disfigurement resulting from the operation after she was involved in a car accident on August 6 2011.
Mater Dei and Maksimovich are cited as the first and second respondents, respectively. Dominguez was admitted at St Lukes Hospital in Lupane and later transferred to Mater Dei owing to the seriousness of injuries sustained in an accident.
An X-ray at the time revealed she had suffered a double fracture of the left mandible.
Dominguez indicated that at the time she was not able to consent to any surgical procedure on her and relied on the hospital, which took a decision to assign Maksimovich to offer surgical services.
“On August 8 2011 at the surgical operations theatre, the second defendant conducted a surgical operation on the plaintiff ostensibly to do a reduction of the double fracture of the left mandible,” Dominguez submitted.
“In carrying out the surgical operation, the second defendant wrongfully and negligently carried out an incorrect and inappropriate reduction of the double fractured mandible.”
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Dominguez, however, said the operation resulted in the displacement of her sub condylar, non-alignment of the reduction of double fractured mandible, paralysis of left eye, persistent noise in her ear, facial disfigurement, double vision on her left eye and excruciating pain on her face.
Dominguez said she was forced to seek further medical services in Harare on August 12 2011 and in her home country, Spain, on September 9 and 23, causing her unnecessary expenses.
A Spanish maxilla specialist discovered that she had suffered surgical fracture on the front wall of the external auditory canal and that there were foreign bodies inside and the specialist removed them, Dominguez said, adding that she has suffered trauma and could no longer chew food but only take liquid stuff.
“As a result of the wrongful and negligent acts by second defendant, the plaintiff suffered general damages for pain, discomfort, psychological trauma, disfigurement, stress, loss of enjoyment of amenities of life and reduction of life expectation in the sum of $100 000,” she submitted.
Dominguez indicated she further suffered damages of $200 000 for impairment or loss of future earnings capacity, $150 00 for expenditure incurred in travelling to and from Harare and Spain, paying for medical and surgical services and ancillary costs, $1 800 for loss of an implant and its replacement, and loss of income of $50 000 for period of five months since she earned $10 000 a month.
She said while at the hospital her $7 800 disappeared from her hand bag, pushing the total to $509 600.
