Woman wins medical malpractice case, hospital ordered to pay 20m/- in damages.

Tabora.

The High Court in Tabora has ordered the Urambo District Council (UDC) to pay 20m/- in damages to a woman who suffered permanent disability as a direct result of the council’s hospital staff negligence during a major operation.

 

 Mwamini Adam filed a negligence suit at the court demanding to be paid damages for injury, permanent disability and emotional suffering all caused by negligence of the hospital. 

 

Delivering the judgment, Judge Amir Mruma said the court is convinced that Mwamini suffered a lot as a result of negligence during the operation carried out on her by one of the hospital’s doctors. 

 

As such, he said UDC, as the owner of the hospital is liable to compensate the claimant because of the negligence of its staff. 

The judgment also ruled that the ordered damage payment of 20m/- will accumulate an interest of seven per cent every month it is not paid as of the date of the judgment to the date of full settlement. 

 

The court also ordered UDC to pay Mwamini’s husband damages amounting to 5m/- and to also cover the costs of the law suit. 

In the malpractice, the operating staff left a piece of cloth in Mwamini’s stomach and Mwamini had to undergo another operation during which, doctors were forced to cut out part of her intestines and also remove her cervix. 

 

In the original claim, Mwamini and her husband had demanded 505m/- in damages as a result of negligence in the operation but the court ruled that they be paid the 25m/-.