A mistake by doctors in an elite hospital. After a banal operation, the patient is disabled

The Central Military Hospital, which ranks itself among the recognized centers of Czech medicine, recently had to admit a fundamental mistake by its doctors.

Five years ago, a forty-four-year-old manager working for a multinational company came to the top workplace to undergo knee ligament surgery, which he had injured as an active cyclist and ski instructor.

Although it was a fairly routine operation, after which the patient was released from the hospital just a few days later, the operated man today moves only with the support of French crutches. He is suing the hospital for more than 14 million crowns.

Until the operation, he lived an active professional life, in addition to skiing and cycling, he also went diving. After the operation, he not only lost these hobbies, but as a long-term patient, he also lost a good job. In addition, he is also disappointed by the approach of the hospital where his problems arose.

“She still hasn’t officially apologized to me or presented any proposal for compensation,” says Mr. Miroslav, whose full name the editors know, but respects the wish to remain anonymous.

He underwent knee ligament surgery at the Central Military Hospital in October 2019, he says that although he complained of pain after it, the doctors still released him home. “They justified it by saying that the blood tests and the puncture were fine,” the patient describes the story.

With the passage of time, it became clear that he had contracted the dangerous staphylococcus aureus bacteria. However, the doctors did not notice this, even when – as evidenced by the medical documentation – the patient’s CRP (C-reactive protein value in the blood) values ​​were around 420.

At the same time, values ​​over 200 should be a warning for doctors. “It means he has a bacterial infection,” said doctor David Feltl, who is also the head of Prague’s General University Hospital.

The military hospital has already officially admitted its fault for Mr. Miroslav’s problems.

Seznam Zprávy obtained a letter that she sent to the District Court for Prague 6 last October, where the patient is demanding compensation for the damage caused. Ivan Jeřábek, the deputy director of the ÚVN, admitted in the letter that the doctors clearly made a mistake before discharging the patient.

“The results of the cultivation were not ascertained and taken into account by the medical staff before the plaintiff was discharged from hospitalization on 7 October 2019, and the plaintiffs were not informed upon discharge from the attending physician,” said Jeřábek.

However, the deputy also admits that this was not the only problem caused by the Central Military Hospital. For the second time, according to Jeřábek, his subordinates made a mistake when the patient arrived at the emergency department two days later in great pain.

As Jeřábek stated in the letter, the attending physician did not check the test results and sent him home. “During the plaintiff’s examination on October 9, 2019 at the Emergency ÚVN workplace, the attending physician did not check the results of the culture of the punctate taken from the plaintiff on October 6, 2019 and released the plaintiff to home treatment,” Jeřábek wrote further.

“At the same time, the doctor told my wife that ‘I have a reduced pain threshold,'” claims Mr. Miroslav.

And thirdly, deputy Jeřábek described one more misconduct to the court. “The defendant (Central Military Hospital) did not contact the plaintiff by phone or in any other way with the result of the culture of the punctate taken on October 6, 2019 and did not initiate the rehospitalization of the plaintiff at the defendant,” Jeřábek stated in the document that the court received from the hospital.

Approximately fourteen days after the operation, the patient ended up in the infectious disease department. They immediately started treating him here with strong antibiotics.

“I survived, after being unable to work for a year and a half, I was granted disability,” said Mr. Miroslav, who still goes to regular rehabilitation for his condition.

Attorney Tomáš Pelikán, who represents Miroslav, said that they wanted to settle with the hospital out of court on compensation. But she didn’t respond for many months. “They haven’t even offered ten crowns yet. It’s just that the hospital doesn’t want to have fun at all,” said Pelikán.

And so they filed a lawsuit in September 2022. So far, the first meeting has been held in the case. A verdict could be handed down soon.

Because of the dispute, the plaintiff patient also had an expert opinion drawn up. “The medical examiner concluded that I survived only because of my high immunity, unfortunately with permanent consequences and I am disabled,” he says.

He is now demanding over 14 million from the hospital. He justifies the amount of the compensation by the fact that, as a high-ranking manager, he lost about five million crowns in three years and he had to pay rehabilitation. In addition, he demands for the Central Military Hospital painful.

The court has not yet decided on the lawsuit. And since the dispute is not over, the Central Military Hospital does not want to comment on it officially. “We will draw conclusions when there is a final court decision,” said its spokeswoman Jitka Zinke.

Tereza Jonáková, the hospital’s ombudsman, expressed a similar opinion. “The matter is currently under trial. I assume that more information will, for understandable reasons, be available only after its termination and a final decision in the matter,” she wrote.

Seznam News also obtained the doctor who released the man from the hospital after the operation. However, he wrote to the editors that he no longer remembers the circumstances of his case.