Fergana doctor sentenced for mistakenly amputating patient’s healthy leg and causing her death

According to court documents reviewed by Kun.uz, the doctor, Abdubannop Madolimov, was head of the surgical department at the Fergana branch of the Republican Specialized Scientific-Practical Medical Center of Endocrinology.

The patient, Adinakhon Isomitdinova, was brought to the facility by her children on October 18, 2024. She was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes in a severe decompensated stage, diabetic foot syndrome with neuroischemic complications, Wagner grade 4, and a post-amputation condition in the left lower leg with a comminuted fracture of the knee joint.

From September 9 to October 25, 2024, Madolimov was officially on personal leave. During this period, Dr. D. Ravshanov was appointed as acting head of the department.

Despite this arrangement, on October 18, Madolimov unilaterally sidelined the acting head, alleging inexperience, and took over the patient’s treatment. He then independently prepared a surgical plan to amputate the patient’s left thigh – even though there were no medical indications for such a procedure – and fraudulently recorded this plan under the name of the acting department head in the official medical documentation.

The surgery was carried out the next day, October 19, by Madolimov, who involved self-selected medical staff and even a student with no medical qualifications. However, during the operation, the patient’s right leg – which had no complications – was amputated at the thigh. Later, doctors also blindly amputated the left thigh.

Due to the shock of losing a healthy limb and the strain of undergoing two major surgeries, the patient died on November 7, 2024.

On May 6, 2025, the Criminal Court of Kuva district found Madolimov guilty under Article 116, Part 3 of the Criminal Code of Uzbekistan (professional negligence resulting in grave consequences). He was sentenced to 4 years in prison and barred from holding leadership or medical positions in the healthcare system for 3 years under Article 45 of the Criminal Code.

The court also ordered Madolimov to pay UZS 27,806,000 in material damages and UZS 80,000,000 in moral compensation to the victim’s legal representative.

The case was reviewed on appeal by the Fergana Regional Criminal Court. In his appeal, Madolimov argued that his actions did not constitute a criminal offense and that the patient’s death was not a direct result of his decisions. He asked the court to overturn the verdict and acquit him. Meanwhile, the victim’s representative requested an increase in compensation to UZS 28,995,000 in material damages and UZS 350,000,000 in moral damages.

The appellate court upheld the original verdict without changes and rejected both appeals.