A lawsuit was filed today in the Magistrates Court in Herzlia against the Ichilov Hospital in Tel Aviv and the Ministry of Health claiming that medical negligence has led to the death of a patient 44 year old Zipora Rahimi who underwent a heart bypass surgery in March 1997 and died on the operating table
According to the lawsuit while opening Rahimis thorax the surgeon penetrated the right ventricle with a saw causing a big gash and bleeding
The surgery was performed by Dr Amir Kramer with Prof Rafi Mor then Deputy Head of the Heart Surgery Department in Ichilov participating part of the time after a complication occurred during surgery
Currently Prof Mor is Deputy to Prof Gideon Oretzki in running the department
The lawsuit filed by lawyers Danni Srur and Doron Kaspi relies on the report of heart surgeon Eli Milgalter from Hadasa Ein Karem saying that the surgery took 11 hours and only towards its end did Prof Mor explain to the family that when opening the Thorax the surgeon penetrated the right ventricle causing a big gash and much bleeding 
For the greater part of the operation they were busy stopping the bleeding
Dr Milgalter has asserted that despite this being a high risk patient her having undergone a previous bypass operation two and a half months before the case was given to a young specialist Dr Kramer and a junior doctor
He also asserted that during the operation actions which were vital and necessary for reducing the expected risks in this difficult operation were not performed
A Ministry of Health inqiry committee which investigated the case claimed in 2000 that no element of negligence was found in any of the medical actions performed on the patient
But in May 2000 Prof Shlomo Laniado then the Head of the Cardiological Department in Ichilov testified to the inquiry committee that he told Rahimis family they should file a lawsuit and end up reaching a settlement   
