A US court ordered an Iowa medical center on May 4 to pay $3.25 million in compensation to a US citizen of Moroccan descent Fatima Belhak, over a botched episiotomy when giving birth.
Episiotomy is a medical error that results in a surgical cut to the area between the vaginal opening and the anus during childbirth.
The jury awarded compensation to the Moroccan woman after she suffered from side effects of the error.
Additionally, the medical center neglected to take care of the woman, even though the mistake was proven, according to US media outlets.
The incident dates back to 2014 when the doctor supervising the birth process decided to perform a 4th-degree episiotomy to expand the vaginal opening for childbirth, while the operation did not go as it was supposed to.
Belhak said in a statement to US media outlets, “to be honest, the compensation amount will not interest me much because it will not get back my health.”
“What I wanted through this lawsuit is to reach the public opinion, and I wanted to prove the truth about my case,” she added.
She further stated that her 8-year-old child is in good health, while the surgery has affected her health, leading her to deal with side effects, including difficulties in movement as well as daily tasks.
The medical center’s defendants have 7 days to respond to the jury’s decision, while Belhak’s defendants expressed their satisfaction regarding the decision, describing it as “reasonable.”
“The decision is fair enough after she was ignored by the medical staff,” Belhak’s defendants added, according to the same source.
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