A shamed surgeon who left a patient with serious disabilities after botching a spinal surgery has failed in his bid to make an NHS board share responsibility for a £2.8 million payout.
Muftah Salem Eljamel, known as Sam, was found entirely to blame for bungling the operation that left Carolyn Almond-Roots with "life-changing injuries". Ms Almond-Roots had attended Dundee's Ninewells Hospital in February 2013 after complaining of back pain.
Dr Eljamel, who was the head of neurosurgery at Ninewells, went against the advice of a nurse and opted not to admit her to hospital for tests. Instead, she underwent an MRI scan later that month that medics identified as cauda equina syndrome (CES), a rare spinal disorder.
After receiving the results, Ms Almond-Roots' GP then referred her for private medical treatment at the BMI Fernbrae Hospital in Dundee, where Dr Eljamel also undertook work as a surgeon. His "negligent" operation left her with irreversible nerve damage, for which he was ordered to pay her £2,810,118 in damages.
Lord Uist had found Dr Eljamel wholly responsible for botching the surgery at the end of 2021, but he had appealed, seeking to hold local health board NHS Tayside partially responsible. Lawyers acting for the shamed medic called for the taxpayer to foot 50% of the bill.
They claimed Lord Uist had not clearly explained why Dr Eljamel was solely responsible for Ms Almond-Roots' condition. But in a written judgement published on Friday, Lord Turnbull struck down any notion of Dr Eljamel splitting the costs.
He said it was "perhaps obvious" that NHS Tayside was not responsible for the bungled operation - and that while opportunities were missed to treat Ms Almond-Roots' spinal problems sooner, the health board bore no direct responsibility for the mistakes that were made by Dr Eljamel during surgery.
Lord Turnbull wrote: "The damages awarded to the pursuer were all in respect of the CES that she suffered as a consequence of the negligently performed operation. The Lord Ordinary concluded that it would be unjust to find the second defenders [NHS Tayside] liable to contribute to the damages for the CES which the pursuer suffered.
"For the reasons given the reclaiming motion is refused."
Dr Eljamel is now banned from practising in the UK after he voluntarily removed himself from the General Medical Council's list of registered doctors in 2015. Reports have suggested that he has been carrying out surgeries in the Middle East since selling his home in Newport-On-Tay in Fife and leaving Scotland.
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