Expert opinion sought in S African doctor’s case

The Abu Dhabi Criminal Court on Thursday asked the UAE's Higher Committee for Medical Liability to give its expert opinion on the charges against South African doctor Cyril Karabus who is accused of committing a medical error that led to the death of a girl and of falsifying a prescription to hide his mistake while he was working in UAE as a visiting doctor in 2002.

The court explained in its ruling that the case is not ready for adjudication as it calls for technical opinion to resolve and clarify some of the issues and points raised. It has therefore decided to assign the Higher Committee for Medical Liability to give its opinion on whether or not the accused committed a medical error while the victim was receiving treatment under his supervision.

The court also asked the committee to give its opinion on whether the error, provided it is established, was the direct cause of the death or there were other reasons which hastened the child's death.

At a hearing, the court also decided to release him on bail on security of his passport or the passport of a guarantor plus a bail amount of Dh100,000.

The bail amount represents the value of the blood money the court may order him to pay if found guilty. The blood money in the UAE was Dh100,000 at the time of the incident, though it was raised later to Dh 200,000.

The court also scheduled the next hearing for  November 20 when the claimant of civil damages will appear along with his attorney.

The court explained in its ruling that it seriously considered the arguments of the accused during the cross examination, especially his statement that the platelets of the girl had risen from 66 per cent to 73 per cent on the day she suffered a brain haemorrhage, which confirms that she had received brood transfusion. This is in addition to his argument that the victim was suffering from fever and a blockage in a main artery, which he said could be the real cause of death. His defence statement that no autopsy was performed on the victim's body also led the court to seek the expert opinion of a competent medical committee.

Meanwhile, the Abu Dhabi Judiciary Department said in a statement that the court’s secretariat has prepared all the papers and documents for the release of the accused professor. As his family was not able to deposit immediately the bail amount set by the court, the release may be delayed until next Sunday, especially because Thursday is the last working day of the week in the UAE.

All procedures for the release of the professor is complete and he will be released the moment the bail amount is deposited, the statement added.
 

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