Istanbul University to pay compensation to girl who lost her mother due to wrong blood transfusion

İsmail Saymaz – ISTANBUL

A court in Istanbul has ruled Istanbul University to pay compensation to a girl whose mother died after she received wrong blood transfusion during a caesarean section surgery at the university’s Cerrahpaşa Medical Faculty Hospital in 2013. 

The Istanbul Fifth Administrative Court ruled that compensation worth 730,000 Turkish Liras should be paid to the daughter and husband of Pervin Çoksüer. 

Çoksüer was taken to hospital to give birth to her daughter, Tuana Çoksüer, where she was put under for her caesarean section on Feb. 11, 2013. While carrying out the operation, Özlem Yıldız, an anaesthetist, transferred two units of blood to Çoksüer upon the doctors’ orders. 

Two hours after the operation, her health condition deteriorated and was taken to surgery again. After staying in intensive care unit for a total of 17 days, her womb was removed on Feb. 27, 2013. She succumbed to her illness a day after. 

Her husband, Serdar Çoksüer, received the news of his wife’s death in the midst of his joy over becoming a father. The hospital gave no explanation as to why his wife had died. 

After Çoksüer’s funeral, a doctor reached out to the family and told them that the hospital staff had given her two units of blood originally assigned to another patient during the surgery, adding that it was only identified later and that there was nothing that could be done about it.
 
Çoksüer’s husband later filed a complaint, prompting an investigation into the medical faculty under the auspices of the Higher Educational Board (YÖK). While Nilgün Çolakoğlu, who was among the team of doctors in the surgery, admitted to the wrong blood transfusion, while Yıldız blamed two nurses, identified only by the initials N.T. and E.B., for wrongly giving blood to her.

The investigation concluded that a different blood type that was transferred to Çoksüer, which was supposed to be given to another patient identified only as A.T., was the cause of her death. 

A compensation case filed with the Istanbul Fifth Administrative Court and a court on Dec. 30, 2016 found Istanbul University guilty. The court ruled for material compensation worth 151,898 liras to be paid for Tuana Çoksüer and 72,249 liras for Serdar Çoksüer. In addition, the court ruled for compensation worth 350,000 liras to be paid for psychological damages given to the daughter and 150,000 liras to the husband of Çoksüer. 

The court also fined Istanbul University to pay the compensation with interest. As long as the Health Ministry does not object to the case, the compensation will be paid to the family in the forthcoming days. 

The family’s lawyer, Cengiz Kesici, meanwhile, said the decision was right for such incident. 

The case into Çolakoğlu and Yıldız are ongoing on charges of “involuntary manslaughter.”