Wave of medical cases hits Sharon area

A Hod Hasharon couple is suing Kfar Saba's Meir hospital for NIS 17m, alleging that the hospital's negligence in treating the husband for a stroke left him paralyzed and 100% disabled.

By MIRIAM BULWAR DAVID-HAY
It seems to be a big week for medical court cases in the Sharon area, according to reports from www.local.co.il. A Hod Hasharon couple is suing Kfar Saba's Meir hospital for NIS 17 million, alleging that the hospital's negligence in treating the husband for a stroke left him paralyzed and 100 percent disabled. And a Kfar Saba resident is suing Clalit health services for NIS 10 million, claiming he received negligent physiotherapy that has left him significantly disabled. In the meantime, a Herzliya resident who tripped and fell at the city's country club last year, breaking a finger on his left hand, has been awarded almost NIS 55,000 in compensation for his injury. According to the reports, in the Meir hospital case, the 60-year-old man was taken to the emergency room complaining that he was having trouble maintaining his balance. Although staff were told he had suffered a mild stroke in the past, he was not given any treatment, nor was he diagnosed by a neurologist, but was left waiting in the emergency room. In subsequent hours his condition deteriorated to the point that he became paralyzed and had to be put on a respirator, and now is permanently incapacitated in Ra'anana's Beit Loewenstein hospital. A lawyer for the man said his client had obviously had another stroke, and the hospital had had a window of about three hours in which it could have provided treatment and prevented much of the damage he had suffered. In the Clalit health services case, a Kfar Saba man alleges that he has been left 60% disabled after being given negligent physiotherapy at Ra'anana's Sho'ali clinic. The man, a professional handyman, sought medical help in early 2006 after suffering from neck and shoulder pains. He was sent to a physiotherapist, who gave him "neck-stretching" treatment, during which he reportedly began to feel sharp pains in his neck and crawling sensations in the fingers of both hands. He then found he was having trouble maintaining his balance and coordinating his legs. Doctors found two tears between his neck verterbrae and he underwent a corrective operation, but it did not succeed and he remains unable to work or function properly, and in need of assistance with daily tasks. His lawyer said the neck-stretching treatment was directly responsible for causing his disability. But while the two big medical negligence cases have yet to be decided, a third medical case has reached a settlement. A man who tripped over a hole in the pavement at Herzliya's country club in the summer of 2006, breaking a finger on his left hand, sued the club for an unspecified amount. But before the case could reach the courts, the club offered to settle the matter, and the man has received NIS 54,790 in compensation.