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X was a healthy 9-year old school boy when he was struck on the head by a stone thrown by a grass mover on the school field. He had a small scalp wound and was unconscious for 2 days. He recovered uneventfully. At the age of 12 an epidemic of meningitis swept the country and mass immunization of all children was ordered. The father hid X from the immunization team. Three months later X developed a severe meningo-coccal meningo-encephalitis rendering him unconscious for a week but he eventually recovered. At age 15 he was diagnosed to have major epilepsy. He avoided any major seizures for the next 10 years by being very compliant with his anti-seizure medication. He was able to accompany his patents on pilgrimage to Makkah. He was not able to continue school because of poor performance and he decided to look for work. He was rejected by several employers once he told them about his history of epilepsy. He continued living as a dependent on his parents until they became too old to care for him properly. He started missing his medication and epileptic fits became frequent. Neighbors took him to the hospital where he was diagnosed to have Parkinson’s disease with dementia and considerable intellectual incompetence. He was admitted to an institution to care for him. He was put on specific treatment for Parkinsonism. He experienced episodes of vertigo which he ascribed to the anti-Parkinsonism treatment but the doctors did not pay attention to his complaints. One morning while walking up the stairs he fell and fractured his cervical spine becoming quadriplegic after that. He was distressed because of fecal and urinary incontinence that interfered with his prayers. A distant cousin who was a lawyer helped X’s parents take the institution to court for negligence that resulted in X’s quadriplegia. The trial was a difficult one because X and his parents could not recollect accurately past events that could throw light on what eventually happened to X.
Discussion: 1. List and explain ethico-legal issues that arise from this case. 2. If you are the judge in this case what would be your decision from the limited amount of information available.