Tantan – Fatima Belhak, a Moroccan woman living in the United States, has been awarded $3.25 million (MAD 32 million) in compensation from a Scott County jury after having undergone a botched episiotomy.
Belhak filed a lawsuit for medical malpractice following the botched procedure she received when giving birth to her son Ziyad in 2014.
Bahlak told local news outlet Quad-City Times that due to the medical mistake she had been suffering from debilitating pain, decreased mobility, and other health complications, for eight long years.
Episiotomy is a surgical incision made at the opening of the vagina during childbirth to aid a difficult delivery and prevent the rupture of tissues.
In January 2014, Belhak was given a fourth-degree episiotomy to help give birth to her now-8-year-old son at a Women’s Care Specialists center.
The episiotomy however was deemed unnecessary, according to the lawsuit, and her doctor ,Denise Smith, failed to diagnose Belhak’s condition after the procedure and did not provide appropriate postoperative treatment.
According to Belhak, she informed medical staff that “something was wrong” after the surgery, but all her complaints were dismissed.
Six months later, the Moroccan woman had to undergo reconstructive surgery at University of Iowa Hospitals & Clinics to repair the damage.
Even though Belhak filed the lawsuit back in 2016, the case did not go on trial until March 2022 due to court procedures, an earlier procedural mistrial, scheduling difficulties with Arabic interpreters, and the COVID-19 lockdown.
The Moroccan woman is thankful for having two sons but still mourns the fact that she cannot have any more children, especially a daughter, at least without considerable risk.
Satisfied with the verdict, Belhak considers the ruling an acknowledgement of the pain and suffering she will deal with for the rest of her life, as well as the medical error that could have been avoided.
“To be honest numbers don’t matter to me that much because no matter what the number is, it wasn’t going to give me back my health or what I lost,” Belhak said. “What I really cared about was that people heard me and they knew my story and they knew whose fault it was.”
Belhak encourages other people, especially women, to trust and listen to their bodies and fight for their rights.
According to the lawyers of Smith and the Women’s Care Center, the case is “far from concluded,” as they will present a “series of post-trial motions” pleading against the ruling, stressing that the Center “provides exceptional care to all its patients.”
Attorneys Anthony and Bill Rribriesco who represented Belhak and her husband considered the result of the lawsuit “fair and reasonable.”
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