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Health Andalusian High Court orders health service to compensate patient 340,000 euros for wrong diagnosisThe inadequate medical care resulted in a worsening of the hiatal hernia and the amputation of several fingers and toes
Thursday, 19 March 2026, 19:14
The Andalusian High Court of Justice (TSJA) has ordered the regional health service (Sas) to pay patient 340,000 euros as a compensation for an inadequate treatment that worsened her condition and led to the amputation of several fingers and toes.
The incident dates back to November 2013, when the woman went to the emergency department of Hospital Costa del Sol in Marbella. Diagnosed with a large hiatal hernia since 2012, she was complaining of severe pain.
The doctors failed to read the warning signs in her blood tests and underestimated her complaints. As the court order states, the hospital discharged the woman, only for her to return 26 hours later because of the symptoms worsening. She was undergoing a septic shock.
The doctors had to perform a high-risk surgery, which led to long-term sequelae, including the amputation of several fingers and toes. According to the ruling, this had a serious impact on the woman's daily life. She spent several months in a wheelchair, under the constant care of her daughters.
The TSJA has therefore ruled that the incident was the result of an "error in diagnosis" and negligence that ignored the patient's recurrent complaints.
"The court expert concludes that the treatment did not adhere to the established diagnostic and treatment algorithms, since a type II or sliding hiatal hernia in symptomatic patients, such as this one, carries a high risk of complications, as ultimately occurred. All the available evidence indicates that surgery is necessary, especially if the patient is unresponsive to pharmacological treatment," the ruling states.
Despite the health service's appeal and rejection of the evidence assessment, the TSJA has maintained the ruling, stating that even if the doctors had tried to adhere to a "less invasive solution", it was clear that "the treatment was not working".
The TSJA holds that there is a "direct cause-effect relationship between the actions of the medical professionals who attended the patient and the subsequent damages".