Din Maarij, 60, struck a patient in an instinctive action after she attacked him unprovoked from behind in May 2018
A surgeon who slapped a female patient across the face after she attacked him on a busy hospital corridor has been cleared by a disciplinary panel.
Dr Mohammad Din Maarij, 60, was spared career ruin Tuesday after successfully arguing he had struck the woman in a reflex manoeuvre to defend himself.
The unnamed patient had attacked Dr Maarij unprovoked and from behind in the A&E unit, hitting him up to three times on the head.
After striking the patient during the confrontation, the doctor lost his job as a surgical assessment registrar at the Princess Royal University Hospital in Locksbottom, Kent following an internal inquiry.