The Bauchi State High Court has awarded N10.2 million in damages against the Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University Teaching Hospital (ATBUTH), Bauchi, in favour of Adamu Misau, whose late wife, Zaliha Muhammad, allegedly died due to medical negligence by the hospital’s personnel in August 2020.

Zaliha, who was pregnant at the time, was initially taken to a primary healthcare facility within the Bauchi metropolis before being referred to the tertiary hospital for specialised medical attention.

Counsel to the plaintiff, Auwal Ibrahim, told the court that surgery was performed on the late Zaliha at ATBUTH, and further alleged that the hospital’s staff later informed the family that the attending medical personnel had failed to suture the surgical wound before referring her to another facility on the grounds of faulty equipment.

The claimant tendered a handwritten referral note as evidence, also arguing that the deceased was left unattended for several hours despite being in critical condition.

Though counsel to ATBUTH, David Kaswe, had argued that delayed payment for treatment contributed to Zaliha’s death, the court rejected the argument after the plaintiff presented evidence showing a cash payment of N14,000.

In his judgment yesterday, Justice Kunaza Hamidu held the defendant liable for the death of the plaintiff’s wife due to medical and professional negligence in the course of her treatment.

According to the court, “the plaintiff is awarded general damages in the sum of N10 million, having regard to the fact that the deceased was already in a critical medical condition when she was admitted, though the defendant’s negligence materially contributed to the fatal outcome.”

It added that “the cost of this action is assessed at N200,000 in favour of the claimant.”

Reacting to the judgment, Adamu, who is a member of staff of the Bauchi Radio Corporation (BRC), said the verdict had brought him some comfort six years after losing his wife and their unborn child.

He disclosed that he had initially filed the suit at the Federal High Court in Bauchi, which declined jurisdiction.