EMMANUEL FRIMPONG MANSO vs ATWIMA MPONU DISTRICT HOSPITAL NYNAHIN-ASHANTI & ORS

NABARESE, JA.

1.0. BACKGROUND

The Plaintiff/Appellant instituted an action against the Defendants/ Respondents, in the High Court, Kumasi, on the 17th day of February, 2025, claiming the following reliefs:

a. General damages for the loss of life of the deceased, for the pain, mental shock and distress occasioned by her death and for trauma and grave inconvenience caused to the plaintiff and the surviving infant.

b. Cost

c. Any further order(s) as the Honourable Court may deem fit.

The designation of the parties at the trial court will be maintained in this judgment.

1.1. The plaintiff is the spouse and personal representative of one Akosua Asantewaa (deceased), who got pregnant and commenced antenatal care at the 1st defendant’s hospital with the aim of delivering in that hospital. Until her untimely demise, the deceased was a Senior Nursing Officer at the 1st defendant’s hospital. The deceased pregnancy was uneventful until about the 38th week when her blood pressure was detected to be very high, accompanied by headaches, and traces of protein in her urine.

1.2. Despite these suggestive findings, the plaintiff said that the 1st defendant failed to carry out any baseline laboratory investigations to confirm or rule out Pre-eclampsia. Further, the medical doctor on duty overruled the midwife’s clinical findings that the deceased had high blood pressure which made vaginal delivery a high-risk option, but instead instructed the deceased to be induced for vaginal delivery.

1.3. The deceased went through the induction and delivered after 24hours, and soon thereafter experienced seizures. The 1st defendant initiated anticonvulsant prophylaxis at the onset of the seizures, but the anticonvulsant drug however spilled on account of the seizures. The deceased’s condition worsened and breathing difficulty set in. The 1st defendant however delayed in getting an anaesthetist input to intubate the deceased to secure her airways and restore breathing. This delay by the 1st defendant caused the deceased to aspirate fluids into her lungs and passed out, and subsequent attempts to revive her failed.

It is on account of the aforementioned that the Plaintiff contends that the defendants negligently caused the death of his spouse, Akosua Asantewaa and seeks the reliefs against the defendants jointly and severally.

1.4. The Defendants Case

Upon service of the writ of summons and statement of claim on the d