A Federal High Court sitting in Abakaliki, Ebonyi state and presided over by Justice Aluko, has on Friday 4th of October, 2019 awarded fifty million two hundred thousand naira damages against Alex Ekwueme Federal University Teaching Hospital Abakaliki.While N5million was damages, as learnt, N200, 000 was the cost of suit filed by the plaintiff.The hospital was ordered to pay the plaintiffs, Mrs. Ifeyinwa Awada, 1st plaintiff and her father, Alhaji Nwugo Chimere Nwugo, 2nd plaintiff for medical negligence which led to the death of Ifeyinwa’s baby in her womb.The defendants in the suit were FETHA as a hospital, its Board of management, a consultant Gynecologist, and the Chief Medical Director.The suit as gathered was instituted in 2016 by the plaintiffs on the claim of the 1st plaintiff, Mrs. Ifeyinwa who was pregnant had gone to the hospital for delivery and she was not attended to which led to the death of her baby.The said Consultant Gynecologist, who was on call that night the 1st plaintiff was brought to the hospital and who should have attended to her, was accused of leaving the hospital to an unknown destination and refused to pick his calls as well as reply the text messages sent to him when the 1st plaintiff’s condition became critical and his attention needed.It was scooped that the 2nd plaintiff, asked that the patient be discharged against medical advice for him to take her to a place she will be attended to with more care and attention but the hospital refused.After much delay, the 1st plaintiff was taken to the theatre for CS, but unfortunately, the baby had died and they handed over the dead baby to the woman without a word of condolence or apology, according to her father.However, the Court, after hearing the case ruled that there was medical negligence on the part of FETHA and the consultant Gynecologist, and thereby awarded N50million damages to the plaintiffs against the hospital. The court also ordered the hospital to pay the cost of the suit which was N200, 000 to the plaintiffs.
