Moroccan Health Ministry Pays Steep Price for Hospital Negligence

Three landmark convictions. Based on the jurisprudence of the Court of Cassation, which established the principle of the responsibility of the health service for damages resulting from medical interventions, even in the absence of bad faith, as long as the fault and negligence are established by the facts and documents, the Moroccan justice system has ordered the Ministry of Health to pay 1,255,000 dirhams to the families of three children due to serious medical errors in the Saniat Rmel hospitals in Tetouan and Mohammed VI in M’diq, reports Achkayen.

In detail, the department of Amine Tahraoui was ordered to pay 385,000 dirhams to the family of the child "M. A.", 410,000 dirhams to the family of the child "B. H.", and 460,000 dirhams to the family of the child "Kh. A.", with the court costs charged to the Treasury in all cases.

These convictions follow a lawsuit against the Ministry of Health and the administration of the Saniat Rmel hospitals in Tetouan and Mohammed VI in M’diq. The victims’ families point to the delay of the medical staff in the two hospitals in intervening during the births.

A prejudicial delay: this has indeed resulted in permanent paralysis and disabilities in the newborns. While they were assured that the condition of their children was "good", the families later discovered, thanks to external examinations, that the damages were due to negligence, delay in medical intervention and lack of appropriate care.