Widower wins GHC3 million against Greater Accra Regional Hospital for medical negligence

An Accra High Court has ordered the Greater Accra Regional Hospital, also known as Ridge Hospital, the Ghana Health Service, and the Ministry of Health to pay GHC3 million in damages to Mohammed Mustapha for medical negligence.

The amount was awarded in favour of Mustapha, whose wife died at the facility following a caesarean section (C-section) due to the negligence of the hospital staff.

Speaking on the Asaase Breakfast Show on Tuesday (6 August), Mustapha said, “I wrote to the hospital for explanations and how my wife’s death could have been prevented and I got to understand that there should have been something done to prevent it [wife’s death].

Mustapha added, “… And in their reply, they made an emphatic statement that, yes, everything went on successfully. But there was a drug that was supposed to be administered, which was not administered.”

Mustapha’s deceased wife was scheduled for an emergency caesarean section (CS) based on a diagnosis in order to save both her and the baby’s lives.

“I know people go for surgery and they come home. Why is mine different? Could there be any situation that it can be avoided? So I started enquiring.”

Reindorf Twumasi Ankrah, the lawyer for Mustapha also stated that every doctor has a legal duty to inform their patients about what is wrong with them, the effects of medications, the risks and so on.

“The doctor has a legal duty to tell you what is wrong with you, even if the doctor prescribes medication for you to take. He has a professional duty to explain to you why that medication is being  given to you, the possible effects of the medication on your overall well-being, among others.”

“I think two or three months after the incidents, he [Mohammed] approached me that this is the situation and whether he had a cause of action. So, after perusing the documentations and listening to the facts as he presented them, we came to the conclusion that there’s a legitimate cause of action to pursue,” the lawyer said.

The court presided over by Justice Ali Baba Abature, granted the sum after determining that the hospital staff failed to perform their duties properly.

Why did Mohammed take his wife to hospital?

Mohammed took his wife, who was six months pregnant, to Greater Accra Regional Hospital for a routine checkup and was later diagnosed with Intrauterine Growth Restriction (IUGR).

“I think on the sixth month, we ran a scan and it came out that the weight of the foetus was reducing.”

“It used to be somewhere around 2.8 and then it came to 2.5. So they quickly asked us to buy certain medications, irons and other things and then we bought it and we were told that she should come in 30 days time.”

“So in the 30 days time when we went, it came out that the weight has now reduced again from 2.5 to somewhere 2.2. So this time around they have to ask her to see a senior gynaecologist and they ask her some few questions and that was when she was asked to run a doppler scan, which seems to be more intense.”

Mohammed added that he only went to the hospital with his wife for a routine checkup, and the hospital admitted her.

“We were just going for normal checkup and he said we should hold on since it’s severe IUGR. So they admitted her, then they gave her some medications and after three days, it even moved from 1.7 to 1.4. So they then run an emergency CS [caesarean section].

Narrating what transpired in the hospital, Mustapha said, “After the operation [surgery] I lost my baby later in the evening I went home. I was called to come back with a family member, only for us to be told about the unfortunate situation that I have lost my wife too.

After his wife’s death, Mustapha demanded an autopsy, which revealed that the ceaserean session operation caused an embolism [obstruction of an artery, typically by a clot of blood or an air bubble].

“So after the autopsy, the pathologist gave us a briefing as to what transpired. He made an emphatic statement, that is what even pushed me and has gotten me to where I am now. He said this is a post-operation [death].”

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