Naged Megally’s family is claiming that Mater Dei Hospital authorities are holding his body “hostage” inside the morgue seven months since his death, defying their request for a private autopsy and violating their fundamental rights.

The claims were made by the widow, son and two daughters of the specialist in foetal medicine who died last July after being admitted to hospital in critical condition.

His death followed a number of surgeries and weeks at the ITU where the patient was apparently making progress before his condition took a turn for the worse.

Two days before Megally died, his family was informed about a “mysterious” condition affecting the patient’s windpipe and which subsequently appeared to have caused his death.

Megally, who suffered from a neuromuscular condition, had a long and complicated medical history which, according to his family, was not adequately diagnosed and assessed before certain medication was administered during his last weeks in hospital.

These unanswered questions prompted Megally’s family to insist on a private and independent autopsy that could enable them to discover “the whole truth” behind the death.

Their request to have that autopsy performed within the ambit of a magisterial inquiry was turned down twice by the courts confirming that the doctor’s death did not merit such an inquiry.

Faced with those rejections and with the hospital’s refusal to release the doctor’s body for an autopsy at a private hospital or alternatively, at Mater Dei Hospital by pathologists chosen by the family, his wife and children have launched a fresh legal challenge.

On Friday, they filed a judicial protest before the civil courts, calling upon the Health Minister, Mater Dei Hospital CEO, the Chief Medical Officer and the State Advocate to immediately release the doctor’s body.

Family holding authorities responsible

The family is holding the authorities responsible for all damages suffered. They are claiming that throughout the criminal proceedings for a magisterial inquiry, Mater Dei Hospital did all it could to prevent the truth.

Not only were the courts not assisted by medical experts, but proceedings were “dragged out” by the hospital over six months.

And all the while, the doctor’s body remained in the morgue, meaning the evidence was deteriorating and being lost through the hospital’s “malicious behaviour”.

Nor was Megally’s medical file immediately exhibited when the court ordered the hospital to do so. The family claimed the hospital exerted “great pressure” upon the courts, creating obstacles and putting up resistance to block any investigation that could interfere with the hospital’s operation.

In terms of ‘death reporting guidelines’ the hospital was bound to instruct relatives to file a police report in cases where suspicions emerged that a death might have resulted through negligence.

Not only were the courts not assisted by medical experts, but proceedings were 'dragged out' by the hospital over six months

Yet, in Megally’s case, the hospital was only interested in putting a “gag” on his family.

They had not yet been allowed to see the doctor’s body in spite of several requests to do so and nor were they assured that the body was being properly preserved in the morgue.

Once criminal proceedings concerning the magisterial inquiry were wrapped up, Mater Dei Hospital still refused the family’s request for a private autopsy or at least to have the post-mortem carried out.

They also requested all recordings of meetings held with hospital representatives while Megally was still at the ITU.

Lawyers Tonio Azzopardi and Ryan Falzon signed the judicial protest.