Nicosia, Cyprus. An appeals court has dismissed all appeals and upheld the court-of-first instance ruling in the case of 10-year-old Stavros Yiorgallis, who died in 2018 after being discharged from hospital with a serious head injury.
District court rulings
In May 2022, the Larnaca district court found GP Eracles Pantelidakis guilty of medical negligence, finding that he failed to properly examine the boy’s head X-ray. The court also acquitted Kyriakos Kyriakides, who faced a similar charge as the then head of the accident and emergency department of Larnaca general hospital.
Both men were accused of failing to detect a fracture of the temporal bone in the boy’s X-ray.
Events leading to the death
The boy fell and hit his head at the basketball court of Alethriko primary school during physical education on May 11, 2018. He was taken by his mother to the accident and emergency department of Larnaca general hospital and was discharged soon afterwards.
A few hours later, he was brought back with severe headaches and low consciousness, and was then transferred to Nicosia general hospital, where he died during surgery.
Appeals court findings
In a ruling issued on February 12, the appeals court said the misdiagnosis was the beginning of a series of events that led to the boy’s death. It also said the prosecution did not need to prove that the misdiagnosis was the main cause of death, but that it was an “essential” one.
The appeals court also noted that when the boy was admitted to Larnaca general hospital, there was no neurosurgeon on duty and no neurosurgery clinic operating there.
What changes, if any, do you think hospitals should make to reduce the risk of misdiagnosis in emergency care?
