the Quinze-Vingts hospital in Paris condemned

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The Paris administrative court ordered the Quinze-Vingts National Hospital, in the 12th arrondissement of the capital, to pay 146,000 euros to a former patient who remained disabled after a “pure comfort” operation on the eyes. This 37-year-old man had consulted a doctor for “refractive surgery” using “Lasik laser” to correct his myopia and was operated on January 27, 2014.

Progressive deformation of the cornea

But, two years later, the former patient experienced a decline in visual acuity: he was then diagnosed with bilateral corneal ectasia, that is to say a progressive deformation of the cornea. He was given treatment for both eyes, and surgery was scheduled to insert an intracorneal implant in his left eye.

The applicant then turned to the Paris administrative court: the hospital “failed in its duty to provide information”, according to him, by “not informing him of the risks of developing keratoconus” with this operation. . The doctor had also not “offered a medical alternative to the Lasik technique”, which is contrary to the public health code.

The patient misses his glasses and contact lenses

Without this operation, he would have “retained good vision with correction by glasses or lenses”, his lawyer also recalled. For its part, the establishment considered that the “lack of information” had only been the cause of 20% of its patient’s harm. In any event, his claims for compensation had to be reduced to “fairer proportions”.

“When the medical act envisaged, even carried out in accordance with the rules of the art, involves risks (…), the patient must be informed”, begins by recalling in general terms the administrative court of Paris in a decision dated August 9, 2024 and which has just been made public. “A failure by doctors to fulfill their obligation to provide information engages the liability of the hospital to the extent that it deprived the patient of the chance to avoid the risk linked to the intervention by refusing to have it carried out. »

Only the case where “the intervention was imperatively required”, so that the patient had no “reasonable possibility of refusal”, prevents recognition of the existence of such a “loss of opportunity”.

In this case, “the risk of developing ectasia following a Lasik laser refractive surgery procedure constitutes a serious risk that is normally foreseeable,” recalls the court. The CHNO indicated that it had transmitted “oral information” on this subject to his patient, but he provided “no evidence” to establish this and “does not dispute that his patient was not informed of other possible solutions”. The applicant is therefore “justified in maintaining that the CHNO failed to fulfill its obligation to provide information” provided for by the public health code.

He lost 500 euros of salary per month

Furthermore, the condition of this patient’s cornea did not “contraindicate the use of Lasik” but “had the effect of increasing the risks”, even though his myopia was “of a limited nature”. This “pure comfort” operation was also “not required by his professional practice”. Under these conditions, the “loss of chance” of avoiding such after-effects was therefore estimated at “50%”.

The patient had previously worked as a “business manager” in the building industry for nine years, and had to be dismissed because he could no longer drive a vehicle and work on a screen for more than thirty minutes in a row. Now recognized as a disabled worker because of his “visual fatigue”, he now has a “sales and human relations” job where he earns 500 euros per month less than before.

The thirty-year-old had also suffered “suffering” rated at “3” on a scale of “1 to 7”; it also maintains “a permanent functional deficit of 20%”, detail the magistrates in their decision. The former patient at the Quinze-Vingts National Hospital also had “red and watery eyes” after the operation, which earned him compensation for his “temporary aesthetic damage”. His “impairment of pleasure” will also be taken care of by the hospital: his “loss of visual acuity” forced him to “stop his practice of sports shooting”.

All things considered, the CHNO was therefore ordered to pay 146,000 euros to the applicant. The health establishment will also have to cover the costs of medical expertise, estimated at 2,500 euros, and pay an additional 1,000 euros to its former patient for his legal costs. He has until October 9, 2024 to appeal the judgment.

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