Kiaroostami's Treating Doctor Sentenced to Three Months Work Suspension for Misconduct

The disciplinary court of the Medical System of Tehran Province has sentenced the treating doctor of Abbas Kiaroostami, the famous Iranian director, to three months of work suspension for 'committing misconduct.' According to the text of this ruling published on Tuesday, October 12, by the ILNA news agency, the defenses presented by Kiaroostami's treating doctor were deemed 'unjustified and ineffective.' The ruling cites 'abandoning the patient despite complications and going on a trip,' 'delaying the second-stage surgery despite clinical and paraclinical evidence of the patient's bleeding,' 'discrepancies in the operation report and the treating doctor's oral statements,' and 'failure to record the results of the patient's visit and the course of the illness daily in the file' as instances of 'medical negligence' by Kiaroostami's treating doctor. The disciplinary court has imposed a three-month suspension from practicing medicine 'at the office where the misconduct occurred.' This ruling can be appealed and reviewed by the Tehran Province Medical System Disciplinary Review Board within twenty days of notification. Meanwhile, according to Fars News Agency, Ali Fattahi, the Deputy of the Medical System Organization, stated that this ruling is not yet final, and its publication before finalization is considered a 'crime.' Based on the ruling of the Tehran Medical System Disciplinary Court, the complaint filed by Kiaroostami's family lawyers against 'Dr. M.P. and the management of Jam Hospital' has also been returned for investigation to the Medical System Organization's court. Abbas Kiaroostami, a renowned Iranian filmmaker, passed away on July 14 while traveling to France for further treatment. Mohsen Tadinfar, the head of Jam Hospital, announced on August 5 that Ahmad Mir, who is referred to as Kiaroostami's primary doctor at Jam Hospital, was 'absent during the gallbladder surgery due to travel.' On the same day, Bahman Kiaroostami, Kiaroostami's son, reacted to these statements by saying that his father's surgeon was not present during either the gallbladder surgery or his 'fourth' surgery, and that 'no infectious specialist' participated in his treatment process. Kiaroostami's doctor stated in the final hearing of this case that he had verbally obtained 'permission' from the late Kiaroostami for his trip and had to return to Tehran late due to his wife's 'broken ribs.' The controversial death of Abbas Kiaroostami has brought the issue of 'medical errors' to the forefront of Iranian society, leading to the creation of a campaign on Facebook that has garnered significant attention. ISNA news agency reminded in an early August report that according to statistics from the forensic medical organization, the rate of physician convictions has shown an increase from 2012 to 2015.