The Fiji High Court has awarded damages of 265,000 US dollars to a 10-year old boy blinded at birth because of medical negligence.
The Fiji Times reports that the court was told that Jushnil Kumar was kept in a Lautoka Hospital incubator after his premature birth in January 1996.
The mother said she was told her son's eyes were damaged and he lost his sight because he was given extra oxygen in a condition described to her as Retinopathy of Pre-Maturity, ROP.
During the trial, two eye specialists, Dr Guy Hawley and Dr Viliame Sotutu, gave evidence that the medical condition could have been treated in Australia or New Zealand if the right advice had been given.
Justice Devendra Pathik awarded several categories of damages of against the state totaling 265,000 US dollars.
