Andalucian Health Service (SAS) ordered to pay €45,000 compensation to a Malaga patient

Image of a judge's gavel with flag of Spain.

Image of a judge's gavel with flag of Spain. Credit: Zerbor/Shutterstock.com

The Andalucian Health Service (SAS) has been convicted of medical negligence by Malaga Provincial Court and instructed to pay €45,000 in compensation to a patient.

A 59-year-old woman suffered a fractured femur after reportedly taking a bone-hardening drug for more than 10 years without any control or monitoring by the health service.

Since May 2004, she had been using a drug that contained alendronic acid, prescribed to treat osteoporosis. As a result, the subsequent bone-hardening caused her to break her femur simply by her toe tapping against something.

She continued taking this drug uninterruptedly and without medical supervision until April 2016, according to her lawyer, Damián Vázquez, of the association ‘El Defensor del Paciente’.

The woman stumbled one time and stubbed her toe on her right foot. Although she didn’t even fall over, the woman ended up having to go to the emergency department of the Costa del Sol Hospital. Medical staff diagnosed her with a fractured femur.

Her treatment was suspended immediately by the doctors who treated her and she underwent surgery to fix the broken femur.

A traumatologist at the hospital informed her that the bone did not fracture easily and that the cause of the fracture was, in his opinion, the fact that she had been taking alendronic acid for such a long time, which had hardened the bones excessively.

According to the lawyer, this situation caused consequences, with his client having to take sick leave from her work. Due to the need for surgery, he insisted that she also suffered damage to her quality of life.

Treatment with alendronic acid should not be extended for more than 3-5 years apparently, and should never be done without adequate controls and supervision, as reported by malagahoy.es.

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Written by

Chris King

Originally from Wales, Chris spent years on the Costa del Sol before moving to the Algarve where he is a web reporter for The Euro Weekly News covering international and Spanish national news. Got a news story you want to share? Then get in touch at editorial@euroweeklynews.com

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