KAMPALA– Kibuli Muslim Hospital has been dragged to the High Court civil division by a 2 years old girl demanding for shs 90m as special damages for causing the amputation of her five fingers on the left hand.
According to the court filed documents, Princess Nabuweko Kimala through her parents Mr. Andrew Nalume and Ms Sylvia Wakabi sued the hospital, claiming that the hospital assigned a nurse to provide post-natal care to the newly born baby (Kimala) together with her mother which involved intravenous administration of medicine on April 5, 2016 at 5:00pm followed by a review at 11:00pm and then followed by further care at 6:00am on April 6.
Wakabi explains that the said nurse who was assigned to administer the medicine on Kimala at 5:00pm tied a bandage around her left hand wrist with the object of identifying a vein into which to intravenously inject the medicine.
“She either, negligently, carelessly or recklessly, failed to remove the bandage from Kimala’s (plaintiff) wrist after administration of the medicine as is prescribed by accepted medical practice, there by cutting off the blood supply to her left hand,” Ms Wakabi says in the court documents.
Wakabi claims that the nurse failed to follow Kimala’s condition as she was scheduled to do so and the bandage that had spent over 13 hours in her wrist had caused her to suffer ischemia which made her fingers become gangrenous due to the cut off of blood supply.
She further narrates that in a bid to arrest the gangrene that had affected victim’s left hand, the hospital doctors advised them that amputation of the affected fingers was necessary thus referring Kimala to CORSU Rehabilitation Hospital in Kisubi for post-amputation care.
She says that on May 19, 2016, the hospital’s administrator, a one Dr. Siraj Mbulambaga wrote an email to Kimala’s father with an attachment of a draft agreement for contribution for her treatment but they did not follow through with the said contribution.
However in their defence through their lawyers of M’/S Nsibambi & Nsibambi Advocates, Legal and Corporate Consultants, the Kibuli Muslim hospital agree on treating Kimala and her mother, however they claim that the condition that led to the amputation of her fingers was never as a result of negligence on their part and that Kimala will be put to strict proof.
In their defence they also claim that in the alternative and without prejudice they shall aver that however legitimate Kimala’s claim for recompense is, the proper party to make good such compensation is the duly contracted insurance company (UAP Insurance) under which they are indemnified in respect of such claims.
