Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/748968
3 MATTHEW AGIUS A court has ordered Government's Chief Medical Officer and two doc- tors to pay €60,500 in damages to the parents of an 18-month-old child who died at the Emergency department's Paediatrics Unit at St Luke's Hospital in 2005 after it noted shortcomings in the medi- cal treatment and the professional organisation at the hospital at the time. 18-month-old Mireille Portelli had been taken to hospital by her parents five times in July 2005. On four of those occasions, the Portel- lis had found the Paediatrics Unit closed and had to go to the Accident and Emergency department, where they had been reassured that there was nothing seriously wrong with the child and sent home. The erstwhile healthy baby had developed a temperature of 103.7 degrees after being given her MMR vaccine. A swelling in her neck that had been caused by a throat infec- tion was apparently ignored and the infection spread to her blood, causing septicaemia, which led to the baby's death. The medical ex- aminations on the child had been superficial and some basic examina- tion had not even been carried out, the court was told, and the doctor who examined her had only three months' experience in paediatrics. Despite the child having turned blue and developed a rash, Dr Ed- ward Zammit had failed to call for the assistance of his senior col- leagues. On the fifth visit, another doctor, Daniela Demarco, had no- ticed that the child was in a serious condition that was deteriorating rapidly and ordered a chest X-ray, but it was too late to save her. Baby Mireille lost her struggle for life a short time later. Mr. Justice Silvio Meli, sitting in the First Hall of the Civil Court, held that there had clearly been seri- ous negligence in the way the case had been handled and that the doc- tors examining the child had failed to exercise the diligence expected of their profession. Moreover, the doctors had failed to follow normal practice by failing to refer to the child's medical records, failing to take blood samples, failing to keep the child under observation and by failing to refer to their Consultants and senior doctors. The system was also found to be deficient in that it would be closed at times that proved to be critical and a paediatrician was not always present there. The system induced the user to seek medical care in the private sector, the court said. It noted that a doctor's responsi- bility had been examined at length in various previous judgements which had established that victims of medical errors can seek redress both from the doctors themselves as well as their employers. The compensation due was es- tablished at €60,518.73 after taking into account the parent's low degree of dependency on the victim and de- ductions for a lump sum payment. MATTHEW VELLA AN internal inquiry into the ar- rest and release of former Malta international Daniel Bogdanovic will hear that Gozo was alight with speculation over his release to play a Xewkija Tigers match against Kercem. It was Bogdanovic's wife, and her brother – Ghajnsielem foot- baller Ferdinando Apap – who filed the criminal complaint with the police on threatening mobile phone messages that Bogdanovic allegedly made to her. The internal inquiry launched by government, headed by former army commander Carmel Vassal- lo, is hearing how Bogdanovic, ar- rested at 7:30pm Saturday evening on 29 October, was released on police bail on Sunday, specifically when it was made clear to Gozo police that he be allowed to make a 3pm kick-off against Kercem. This fact will also be made clear in court this morning as the hear- ing into the criminal complaint against the footballer, continues. Additionally, Bogdanovic will face a charge related to the keeping of a licensed firearm and bullets in his premises, ostensibly posing a danger to the intimidated woman. There is no doubt that Bogda- novic's appearance on the field was a red flag to Xewkija's rivals Ghajnsielem, aware of Ferdinan- do Apap's brother-in-law's trou- bles with the police. When Bogdanovic's release made headlines in MaltaToday, given that phone-calls from top brass had preceded the footballer's release, an internal inquiry was launched. MaltaToday's sources say that Gozo police acted on top brass orders that came from a ministry official, when Bogda- novic was originally requested to be presented under arrest before Magistrate Joanne Vella Cuschieri on Monday morning. Since then, Xewkija Tigers' coach Jesmond Zammit – who happened to be head of secre- tariat to parliamentary secretary Ian Borg – has suspended himself pending the inquiry, although this newspaper did not suggest Zam- mit as having directly requested Bogdanovic's release on police bail. Additionally, the Opposition has speculated in the House of Rep- resentatives as to whether Gozo minister Anton Refalo used his influence with police to secure Bogdanovic's release: in the past Refalo has assisted the Xewkija club as a guarantor for the acqui- sition of their club's premises. While not denying outright the suggestion made by shadow home affairs minister Jason Azzopardi, Refalo only demanded that the MP make his allegation outside the House – ostensibly a "chal- lenge" that would invite some form of libel action by Refalo. That legal remedy, long consid- ered the politician's refuge to win over public support, could mean years of toing-and-froing inside the Maltese courts. Carmel Vas- sallo's own internal inquiry is not expected to take more than three weeks. maltatoday, WEDNESDAY, 9 NOVEMBER 2016 News Thursday TVM 20:50 Bogdanovic release was red flag to football rivals Wife was accompanied by brother, Ghajnsielem footballer Ferdinando Apap, to make criminal complaint Parents given €60,500 in compensation for baby's fatal misdiagnosis Serious negligence in the way doctors examined 18-month baby and failed to excised diligence expected of their profession The 18-month-old child died at St Luke's Hospital in 2005 Daniel Bogdanovic