A court in Kabardino-Balkaria has denied a disabled teenager compensation for medical error.

After surgery at a Moscow clinic, Kabardino-Balkaria resident Islambek Mamedov was confined to a wheelchair for life. He demanded compensation from the hospital, but the court ruled that the doctors had not harmed his health.

Islambek Mamedov, a resident of the Chegem district of Kabardino-Balkaria, was diagnosed with scoliosis and kyphosis (severe spinal curvature) as a teenager. Local doctors referred him for surgery at the Russian Children's Clinical Hospital (RDKB) in Moscow.

The teenager underwent surgery at the end of May 2022, when Islambek was 16 years old. Before the surgery, the young man moved freely without assistance or aids and was actively preparing for college.

Results of the Surgery

Doctors' attempt to restore the shape of the spine by fixing the vertebrae with rods led to a serious complication: during the operation, the patient's circulation in the spinal cord was disrupted, and doctors were forced to remove the newly installed rods. As a result, Mamedov developed leg paralysis and pelvic dysfunction, according to the Memorial Human Rights Center*.

In August 2022, the teenager underwent a second correction and stabilization of the vertebrae with rods, but his health was not restored. In October of that year, Islambek Mamedov was classified as a child with a disability, and in May 2024, he was given a permanent Group I disability.

Neurological complications following the surgery resulted in the patient's lower body completely atrophying, rendering him unable to walk or stand independently. The young man is now confined to a wheelchair and will be "dependent on a diaper changed by his mother" for the rest of his life, according to a publication on the organization's website.

Lawsuit

In the fall of 2025, Islambek Mamedov filed a lawsuit in the Chegem City Court, demanding that the Moscow clinic pay damages for injuries to his health and compensation for moral damages. He estimated the moral damages at 10 million rubles, and the material damages were confirmed by receipts for rehabilitation costs—Mamedov's family has spent more than 2.25 million rubles on it since December 2022.

On October 17, 2025, the Chegem District Court dismissed Mamedov's claim. Despite objections from his representative, the court relied on the defendant's primary argument—an expert opinion prepared by the Bureau of Forensic Medical Examination. It stated that doctors had correctly diagnosed Islambek Mamedov and performed the surgery correctly, in accordance with all regulations, and that the complication the patient developed was "unpredictable and irreversible."

Mamedov's lawyer cited more than ten reasons why the opinion presented to the court could not be admissible evidence in the case. Specifically, he pointed out that the plaintiff's complication (spinal cord ischemia), while rare, is known in the practice of similar surgeries, meaning it was potentially possible, not "unpredictable." The lawyer called the examination's final conclusion—that "the consequences of ischemic circulatory failure in the spinal cord, which developed as a result of traction injury during the first surgery" are not considered a "complication causing harm to health"—absurd.

Although the patient signed consent for the surgery, which included a general reference to the "possibility of neurological complications," he was not fully informed of all possible risks, including the development of paralysis.

Islambek Mamedov appealed the Chegem District Court's decision, but the Civil Division of the Supreme Court of Kabardino-Balkaria also rejected his claim. The decision, dated December 25, 2025, states that the doctors who performed the surgery "did not cause harm" to Mamedov's health with their actions.

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** Meta (owner of Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp) is banned in Russia.