21.06.2026 22:30
In Ankara, 13-year-old Merve Sena Sümer, who suffered an allergic reaction after an antibiotic injection at a private clinic where she was taken with a cough complaint, became bedridden with 98 percent disability. At the end of the investigation, a lawsuit was filed against the pediatrician, seeking up to 4 years in prison on charges of 'causing injury by negligence.'
Merve Sena Sümer, the child of Emel and Ömer Sümer, who live in Ankara, was taken by her family to a private children's health clinic on October 28, 2021, due to a cough complaint, where pediatrician T.K.D. administered an antibiotic injection.
LEFT 98% DISABLED AND BEDRIDDEN However, Sümer suffered fainting due to an allergic reaction. Her breathing stopped, and she was revived with initial intervention at the hospital to which she was taken by ambulance, but during this process, her heart stopped for about 35 minutes and oxygen did not reach her brain. After 69 days in intensive care, Merve Sena Sümer was left 98% disabled and bedridden.
PROSECUTOR SEEKS 4 YEARS IN PRISON FOR DOCTOR The family filed a criminal complaint with the prosecutor's office against the clinic owner M.A. and pediatrician T.K.D. While the Ministry of Health's Professional Liability Board did not grant permission for an investigation, the Ankara Regional Administrative Court overturned this decision and ordered an investigation. Subsequently, the Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor's Office launched an investigation. After approximately 4.5 years, the investigation was completed, and an indictment was prepared against pediatric specialist Dr. T.K.D. In his statement in the indictment, Dr. T.K.D. stated that he had no fault in the incident, that he performed all necessary medical procedures, and that he did not accept the accusations.
The indictment stated that the suspect T.K.D., through his negligent actions, caused a situation endangering the victim's life, thereby committing the crime of 'causing injury by negligence,' and sought his prosecution with a demand for up to 4 years in prison for the corresponding offense.
EXPERT: FAILED TO FULFILL DUTY OF CARE In the expert report included in the indictment, it was stated that in a facility with the status of a medical center, the initial intervention for the 'Anaphylaxis' (allergic reaction) table should have been applied more effectively and in an organized manner, and that after the antibiotic injection, the patient was sent to the waiting room instead of being kept under observation in an area where monitoring could be performed. It was also stated that when notifying the 112 emergency unit, the patient's general condition and suspected diagnoses were not fully explained, aspiration was not persistently mentioned, and the allergic reaction table was not addressed.
The report also noted that the patient was handed over to the 112 unit after only a heartbeat was heard, without stabilization; that contradictory information was given to the 112 teams regarding the medical interventions performed during the transfer; and that no information note about the procedures performed at the medical center was given to the hospital to which the patient was transferred. The report concluded that, considering all these factors together, the pediatric specialist Dr. T.K.D., who managed the team during the emergency intervention at the medical center, was at fault for failing to fulfill his duty of care.
MOTHER: I WANT JUSTICE, I WANT HER TO SAY 'MOM' ONCE Emel Sümer, stating that her daughter became bedridden after the intervention at the clinic to which they took her with cold and cough complaints, said, "They said she wouldn't live. We heard that word every day, and her survival is truly a miracle. Merve is my miracle. May God not test anyone with their child. We took out the lifeless body of our child whom we brought in perfectly healthy. If such a simple procedure—an injection due to negligence, an allergy—cannot be performed, what can I say? I am burned out; let other mothers not be burned out. Believe me, that's all we want. She underwent 6 major surgeries. She grew up in bed; this year she was supposed to graduate from 4th grade. Her friends' families are sharing graduation photos; my daughter is in bed and could only go to school for 2 months. Believe me, 4.5 years have passed, and I spent 3.5 years of that time in the hospital. I entered on March 17 last year, and we could only leave the hospital on March 17 this year. My child is suffering; we are very helpless in front of it. She was such a lively, active, affectionate child; all of that is gone. There is perception now; she can hear, but there is no sight. She is 98% bedridden. I want justice; I want my child's health to return. I want her to say 'Mom' once," she said.
“I WANT THEM TO BE PUNISHED” Sümer, who wants the responsible parties to serve their sentences, said, "I absolutely want the doctor and the hospital owner to be punished. I want Health Minister Kemal Memişoğlu to cover my child's treatment if there is any. They bring patients from all over the world by plane. I also want Family and Social Services Minister Mahinur Hanım to hear my voice. Because we have been truly worn out in this process. We have undergone serious surgeries, and they have been very challenging for us."
“WE HAVE MADE OUR OBJECTIONS TO THE INDICTMENT” The family's lawyer, Hasan Kurt, claimed that the suspect doctor performed the injection without obtaining the family's consent and recorded the procedures on the computer 8 days later, stating, "We have made our objections to the current prosecutor's indictment, because the indictment was prepared deficiently based on the report. Why was it deficient? In causing injury by negligence, there are two separate specific qualified circumstances. If the injury affects vital functions, the penalty is increased by half; if there is loss of a sensory organ or speech, the penalty is doubled. In the expert report, the loss of speech was overlooked, and the loss of one of the sensory organs was overlooked. This child's brain does not function; that is organ loss. This child cannot speak; this was again overlooked in the indictment," he said.
Lawyer Kurt also noted that the compensation lawsuit they filed separately regarding the incident is ongoing.