A BRITISH FAMILY are heading to the European Court of Human Rights after the Cyprus justice system dismissed inquest findings that a Paralimni doctor failed to diagnose their daughter’s ectopic pregnancy – which caused her death.
An inquest last year referred the case to the Attorney-general to pursue a criminal investigation after it was established that gross negligence on the part of the doctor and procedures at the clinic contributed to the death of 21-year-old Kalisha Gordon in 2008.
However, after a twelve month wait and countless letters to the Law Office of Cyprus for updates, the Attorney-general Petros Clerides stunned family lawyers by deciding that no action would be taken due to ‘insufficient evidence’, meaning neither the hospital nor the doctor will be brought to court by the state.
Clerides was scheduled to attend a pre-arranged meeting with father Lloyd Gordon last December to discuss the case, but pulled-out an hour before, leaving an official from his office to break the news that no action would be taken.
“The delays which the family of Kalisha have faced during the proceedings since the death of their daughter are unacceptable, therefore making emotional closure for her death almost impossible,” Rebecca Seaberg, a Legal Consultant at the law office of Georgiades and Mylonas told the Cyprus Mail.
Lawyers for the family have now received instructions to proceed to file a case on their behalf at the ECHR under the European Convention of Human Rights on the grounds that the state failed to proceed with criminal proceedings or an investigation into the death.
Friends of Lloyd Gordon have spoken of the family’s frustration with the clinic and battle for the truth, which was paid for by family, friends and fundraising efforts.
“Nothing can mask the agony being felt by the family. But it is making them more determined than ever. It is as if everyone in Cyprus just wants to sweep the death of Kalisha under the carpet,” a family friend told the Cyprus Mail last night.
The Gordon family decided to head to the European Court after opening a civil case against the doctor in December, which has now been postponed by the courts from a scheduled preliminary court date last month until September. Mr Gordon was given three days notice that the case faced an eight month delay.
“The way this family is being treated is not right, they had to fundraise and fight just to find out how their daughter died. I think they feel that a court away from Cyprus would be better at dealing with this, based on what horrors they have been through,” the friend added.
Mr Gordon and his family fought for nearly four years to receive a full explanation into the circumstances surrounding the death of Kalisha, who died on the final day of a working holiday in Ayia Napa. As she was packing to leave on July 30 2008, she fell ill with severe vomiting, chest pain and loss of consciousness.
She died less than 24 hours later at the LITO clinic in Paralimni, leaving friends and family devastated.
At the inquest, Judge Christos Philipou, sitting as coroner, established that Kalisha died as a result of a hemorrhage shock due to a rupture of the right ovary caused by an ectopic pregnancy.
The LITO clinic had originally claimed she died of a heart attack.
The inquest judge received evidence from a number of witnesses, clearly establishing blame with the duty doctor, who failed to diagnose that the pregnancy was ectopic. Faults in communication between the nurses at the clinic and the treating doctor were also to blame, with Judge Philipou adding that if proper care had been administered it is probable that Kalisha would have survived.
The duty doctor Petros Afxentiou claims he carried out a number of tests and did nothing wrong.
An ectopic pregnancy occurs outside the uterus, which is a life-threatening condition to the mother.
To make matters worse, the judge also stated that there were missing documents in the case medical file which warranted investigation by the police.
Kalisha Gordon
Heading to Europe: parents Jane and Lloyd Gordon