The Baabda Palace of Justice. (Credit: National News Agency)
In the case of young Sophie Mechleb, who was left paralyzed in 2016 due to brain damage following surgery, the conviction for “false testimony” against Ghassan Mhaimes, a pediatric neurologist practicing at Saint George Greek Orthodox Hospital, was upheld Thursday on appeal.
The Mount Lebanon criminal appeals court, presided over by Carole Ghantous, confirmed the verdict handed down in February 2024 by the Baabda Justice Palace's sole criminal judge, Nadine Najm, who found the doctor guilty of “making a false statement by attributing the medical incident to an incorrect cause,” according to Georges Khoury, one of the two lawyers for the victim’s family, when contacted by L’Orient-Le Jour.
In June 2016, Sophie, then one year old and born prematurely, underwent surgery to remove a benign tumor in her lower back. Following the operation, the young girl suffered permanent brain damage, resulting in total paralysis.
Sophie’s father, Faouzi Mechleb, filed a complaint with the Beirut appellate prosecutor’s office against the surgeon and anesthesiologist involved.
The deputy public prosecutor at the appellate court then brought charges against them for “involuntary injury.”
The trial remains ongoing several years later. A hearing is scheduled for next December before the sole criminal judge in Beirut.
Following Mechleb’s complaint, the investigation committee within the Beirut Order of Physicians requested Dr. Mhaimes to issue a report to determine the cause of the brain damage and the total paralysis.
Believing the specialist’s statement to be erroneous, the victim’s father turned to the Baabda judge, who had jurisdiction due to the defendant’s place of residence.
Conviction on principle
While the Mount Lebanon appeals court confirmed the neurologist’s conviction, it did reduce the penalty.
Judge Najm had handed down a two-month prison sentence and ordered the payment of one billion Lebanese pounds in damages (a little over $11,000 at the current rate), whereas the appeals court replaced the prison term with a fine of 200 million pounds (about $2,230).
“What’s important is the conviction as a matter of principle,” Khoury told L’Orient-Le Jour, referring to the judicial recognition of medical responsibility, regardless of the compensation amount.
The lawyer said the conviction allows Mechleb to seek the suspension of Mhaimes’ medical license.
Under the law regulating the medical profession, the Order of Physicians may bar a member found guilty of such an offense from practicing, according to Khoury, who said his client plans to visit the order and the Health Ministry on Monday to seek the doctor’s removal from the register.
Mhaimes has 15 days to file for cassation, Khoury said, but he expressed doubt that the Supreme Court would overturn two consistent rulings.
Meanwhile, Faouzi Mechleb also filed a complaint against former Order of Physicians president Raymond Sayegh and former head of the order’s investigation committee Claude Semaan for “false reporting.”
Former Metn sole criminal judge Tarek Bou Nassar convicted them of this offense in October 2024, before Fawzi Mechleb withdrew his action against Dr. Sayegh.
The case is currently before the Jdeideh (Metn) appellate court, following an appeal by Semaan against Judge Bou Nassar’s decision.
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