Ruling on a female doctor who operated on a woman whose fetus died inside her and the woman having some complications
Q: She has been practicing medicine as a successful obstetrician for 11 years, and none of her patients has had complications whatsoever. However, she had a medical case in which an embryo died in the mother's womb two months ago, as she decided to take it out of the womb. During the operation, it turned out that the embryo was torn and was stuck to the womb, which was fragile. After the operation, the mother did not heal completely and she was examined in the university hospital, which showed that there was a hole in the uterus wall despite my keenness on performing the operation.
The woman received her treatment in the hospital where doctors sectioned her abdomen and cleaned it. But she was told that she would only be able to give birth through cesarean operations. Is there any blame on me? Do I have to pay Diyah (blood money)?
If this matter occurs again with that woman, what should I do?
A:
You are not to blame for what you did, because you, as a specialist in that field, performed the right medical procedure. You also said that you have already performed successful operations of the same kind, praise be to Allah. A clever doctor is not responsible (Part No. 21; Page No. 422) for the harms or even the death of a patient, if he or she does his or her duty according to the prescribed medical procedures, because he or she is permitted by law to perform such operations. So a doctor is not held accountable for repercussions that may occur to the patient. We are of the opinion that you should continue your job to benefit the Muslims. We ask Allah to help you and advise you to be more careful and precise with the patients' medical conditions before providing any medication.May Allah grant us success. May peace and blessings be upon our Prophet Muhammad, his family, and Companions.