Federal Medical Centre, Makurdi, Benue State and three doctors at the hospital have been sued for allegedly causing the death of a patient, Mrs Sabina Uyeh by neglecting her.
The deceased until her death was a Public Relations Officer (PRO) at the same hospital, Punch reports.
The husband of the woman, Benjamin Uyeh, also sued three doctors namely; Dr Paulinus Abu, Dr Jerome Ohene and Dr Hussein Micah.
Uyeh is demanding the sum of N159m as general and special damages for the alleged negligence that led to his wife’s death.
Earlier, in a pre-action notice served on the defendants, Uyeh had threatened to sue the FMC and the doctors unless they compensated the family with N50m as ‘medical damages’ for the death of his wife.
Uyeh also insisted that disciplinary actions be taken against the doctors, whom he accused of allegedly neglecting his wife in October 2019.
He claimed that the surgery performed on his wife by the doctors left her with perforated stomach.
In addition, the grieving husband decried the dismissal of the scan result, which indicated that his wife’s gut was perforated, by one of the doctors.
Uyeh further alleged that “the negligent act and the subsequent actions and inactions of Dr Micah” subjected his wife to unimaginable pain for three months, until she eventually died.
He said efforts to arrive at a peaceful out-of-court settlement had failed, forcing him to take a legal action against the defendants.
In the writ of summons filed at the Federal High Court, Makurdi Division, by the counsel for the plaintiff, Kenneth Achabo of Achabo, Chaha and Associates, Uyeh declared that “the defendants were negligent in the way and manner” they handled the medical condition of his wife, Sabina.
In the summons, Uyeh insisted that his “wife died as a result of the defendant’s negligence”, thereby prompting him to claim from them, the sum of N159m as general damages; special damages and cost for the suit.
The breakdown of the damages being demanded by the grieving husband includes general damages in the sum of N100m for the loss of Sabina as a result of the defendants’ alleged negligence.
Others are;
General damages in the sum of N50m for the pain, discomfort, emotional and psychological trauma the plaintiff and his children have been subjected to for the loss of life of their breadwinner, being the plaintiff’s wife, as a result of the defendants’ negligence.
Special damages in the sum of N7m, being medical bills and other expenses incurred by the plaintiff as well as N2m, being the cost of the suit.
