Doctor found guilty of negligence in child’s death

A Larnaca General Hospital A&E doctor was found guilty of medical negligence in the death of 10-year-old boy Stavros Giorgallis, who died after sustaining a head injury in May 2018.

The Larnaca District Court found GP Iracles Pantelidakis guilty of failing to properly examine the head X-ray of the 10-year-old boy, who later died from his injury.

Dr Pantelidakis was the GP on duty at the Larnaca General’s Accident and Emergency Department.

Another doctor was accused of negligence; Dr Kyriakos Kyriakides, then head of the A&E at Larnaca general, was acquitted.

Both doctors were accused of failing to detect the fracture of the temporal bone in the X-ray of the deceased in May 2018.

Delivering its 146-page ruling, the district judge said that the defendant misdiagnosed the child’s imaging test.

The judge said that Dr Pantelidakis’ treatment was reckless and dangerous, adding that he evaluated the child’s x-ray hastily, superficially, and incorrectly.

The doctor said the child had a mild head injury and discharged him.

The boy had been injured after falling on the basketball court of Alethriko primary school during a PE class.

He was rushed by his mother to the A&E of Larnaca general, from where he was soon discharged.

The boy’s mother had taken the child back to Larnaca’s General hospital just a few hours later, as he was complaining of severe headaches.

He was then transferred to Nicosia General, where he died during surgery.