Not every mistake can be overlooked or reconciled with, especially when it is connected to life itself or leaves irreversible physical harm. At that point, it becomes a crime rather than a mere lapse, and leniency toward those responsible is no longer acceptable. With these words, Manhal al-Mehna expressed his anger at the medical negligence that claimed the life of his wife, Rahaf, aged 30, who entered a public hospital in the city of Latakia to undergo an appendectomy, only to leave the operating room carried in a coffin.
Many women in Syria have fallen victim to repeated medical errors in hospitals and health centers, as a result of negligence, lack of expertise, or improper handling of medical equipment, in addition to the absence of oversight and accountability. Those who did not lose their lives to shelling and war end up losing them simply in hospital corridors.
As for Jaylan Abdulrahman, a 35 year old woman from the city of Qamishli in eastern Syria, she has a painful story with doctors. She tells +963: I entered the operating room for a cesarean section, believing that I would come out holding my baby in my arms, but I emerged carrying endless pain. Several days after the operation, I began to feel strange abdominal pain, a high fever, and abnormal bloating. At first, I thought this was normal after surgery, but the pain intensified day after day until I could no longer move.
She adds: My family was forced to take me back to the hospital, where doctors discovered after lengthy examinations that a piece of medical gauze had been left inside my abdomen during the operation. That simple mistake, in their view, was enough to threaten my entire life. I underwent a second surgery to remove the gauze, but the effects of negligence did not stop there. I suffered from severe infections that lasted for months, leaving physical and psychological scars that will never fade.
Jaylan recounts her story today with bitterness, saying that she no longer easily trusts any doctor or hospital, and that she considers herself a survivor of certain death. For her, the error was not merely an incidental accident, but a crime of negligence that nearly deprived her two children of their mother. She adds: “The most dangerous thing about these errors is that they are committed in silence, without accountability, as if people’s lives have no value.”
In the city of Aleppo, Samar al-Ali, aged 28, was suffering from recurrent severe headaches accompanied by dizziness and loss of balance. She went to the hospital more than once, but the doctor insisted that it was nothing more than psychological exhaustion or a normal migraine, prescribing painkillers and sedatives.
Weeks passed and the symptoms worsened, until Samar began to lose her ability to see clearly. Only then did her family decide to take her to another doctor outside the city. After a CT scan of her head, the shock emerged. Samar had a small brain tumor that could have been controlled if it had been detected early, but the delay in diagnosis made her condition more complicated. Samar went through a long treatment journey involving surgeries and radiotherapy. She tells +963: “It was not the disease that nearly killed me, but the misdiagnosis that made me live months of pain for nothing. My life has changed, but I share my story to say that underestimating symptoms can be fatal.”
Reasons behind medical errors in Syria
Anas Dallo, a Syrian lawyer and executive director of the organization Families for Truth and Justice, believes that medical errors in Syria are no longer isolated individual incidents, but rather a direct reflection of deep dysfunction within the health system, exacerbated during years of conflict, with a compounded impact on women in particular, especially in sensitive fields such as pregnancy, childbirth, and cosmetic procedures.
Dallo explains to +963 that medicine, although a probabilistic science rather than a guarantee of cure, can, when negligence, misdiagnosis, or violation of recognized medical standards occurs, lead to death, permanent disfigurement, or physical disability, placing such practices within the framework of medical error that warrants legal accountability.
He defines medical error as a physician’s deviation from customary medical conduct and from the vigilance and caution required by the profession, to the extent that the patient is neglected and harmed.
Regarding the reasons for the spread of medical errors, Dallo points to overlapping factors, most notably the deterioration of health infrastructure, shortages in equipment, the emigration of qualified medical personnel, work pressure and overcrowding, and weak continuous training. He adds that one of the most dangerous factors is the entry of unqualified individuals into delicate medical specialties such as surgery, anesthesia, cosmetic medicine, and obstetrics, amid weak oversight and the absence of effective accountability.
Women’s rights are non-negotiable
With regard to women’s rights, Dallo affirms that a woman who is subjected to medical negligence in Syria possesses firm rights that are not diminished by the procedural immunity granted to physicians.
These rights include the right to safe medical care based on scientific standards, respect for dignity and privacy, access to clear and complete information about her health condition, procedures, and potential risks, and not being subjected to any medical intervention without her informed consent, except in cases of extreme necessity.
Between procedural immunity and victims’ right to justice
Dallo explains that Syrian laws, despite granting physicians procedural protection that prevents their arrest or direct prosecution before seeking specialized medical expertise, do not abolish a woman’s right to file a formal complaint and request an independent medical investigation to determine whether an error occurred. When negligence or deficiency is established, she has the right to hold the physician and the medical facility accountable and to seek compensation for physical, psychological, or material damages she has suffered.
He stresses that cases related to pregnancy, childbirth, and cosmetic procedures carry particular sensitivity, as negligence or intervention by unqualified individuals can lead to grave consequences affecting a woman’s body, psyche, and social standing. This constitutes a direct violation of her right to health and bodily safety and cannot be justified as fate or natural complications.
On the psychological and social level, Dallo clarifies that the effects of medical negligence are not limited to physical harm, but extend to depression, anxiety, post traumatic stress disorder, loss of trust in one’s body and in the health sector, and social isolation. They may also reach the point of strained family relationships and blaming the woman for what happened, in addition to economic burdens resulting from treatment or disability.
From a legal perspective, Dallo explains that medical acts are deemed permissible under Article 185 of the Syrian Penal Code, provided they are practiced in accordance with professional standards, by a qualified and licensed person, and with the patient’s consent or in cases of necessity. Any violation of these conditions removes the act from the scope of permissibility and places it within the framework of legal responsibility.
He notes that liability arising from medical error is divided into civil liability based on compensation under Article 164 of the Civil Code, and criminal liability that arises when the elements of a crime are present. Its legal characterization and penalty are determined according to the severity of the harm, up to the crime of causing unintended death stipulated in Article 550 of the Penal Code.
Dallo emphasizes that the procedural immunity granted to physicians does not mean exemption from criminal responsibility, but merely regulates procedures and their timing. Accountability remains in place whenever negligence, violation of professional standards, or the practice of medicine without a license or proper specialization is proven.
He concludes by affirming that medical negligence against women in Syria constitutes a double violation, physical, psychological, and social, and that addressing it requires regulating medical practice, preventing unqualified practitioners, activating legal accountability, and providing the necessary support.
