An Accra High court has fined the 37 Military Hospital an amount of GHS1,075,000 for medical negligence which resulted in the death of a 27-year-old pregnant woman.
The woman, Helena Brema Nyamekye, who was a PhD student at the University of Ghana at the time of the incident, is said to have opted for a Caesarean Section as her preferred mode of childbirth but the Doctors denied her the option and put her through normal labour, causing her to bleed profusely to death while her baby, Yaw Nyamekye suffered a deformity to his right arm upon delivery.
The husband of the deceased, Captain Nyamekye (Rtd), and the father of the deceased subsequently sued the 37 Military Hospital for damages for loss of life, trauma and negligence, as well as General damages.
The legal suit was filed by the plaintiffs (father and the husband of the deceased, a retired Captain of the Ghana Armed Forces) after the death of Helena Brema Nyamekye, a PhD Student of the University of Ghana.
According to the Plaintiffs, in 2015, when the deceased was due to deliver, she opted for a Cesarean Section, but her request was turned down. Instead, the doctors decided to take her through normal delivery. This caused her to bleed profusely and died in the process.
In the defense of the hospital, the doctors argued that the deceased’s request for a Cesarean Section was made rather late. However, the court found that the evidence presented before the court showed that the request was made in the morning, hours before the delivery was carried out.
According to the Presiding Judge, Justice Kweku Tawiah Ackaah-Boafo, the circumstances that led to the death of Mrs Nyamekye could have been avoided.
He stated that the defendant’s counsel failed to address the issue as to why the Cesarean Section, as requested by the deceased, was not carried out by the doctors.
He said, “no plausible or reasonable explanation was given to the court by the doctors as to why the request was not conducted.”
He, therefore, ruled in favour of the plaintiffs and awarded the father and husband ¢400,000.00 each for loss of expectations of life; ¢50,000.00 in damages of mental distress also to them, ¢100,000.00 to the baby, Yaw Nyamekye in damages for pain and suffering. The court also awarded ¢50,000.00 to Yaw Nyamekye in damages for disfigurement; ¢50,000.00 in damages to primary caregivers and an additional ¢25,000 in damages.
37 Military Hospital is being sued again for GHS2million over death of 48-year-old man, another suit brought against it earlier in July 2021. The family of a patient, Solomon Asare-Kumah, who died after being admitted at the 37 Military Hospital at age 48, sued the management of the facility over alleged medical negligence.
Another case of legal suits over medical negligence is Ridge Hospital, as it faces a GHS5 million lawsuit for possible negligence from a man whose wife and baby died at the hospital.