Man sues Benue FMC, doctors over wife’s death; demands N159m

The husband of the Public Relations Officer of the Federal Medical Centre, Makurdi, Benue State, Mrs Sabina Uyeh, has instituted a legal action against the hospital and three of its medical doctors over the death of his wife.

Benjamin Uyeh is demanding the sum of N159m as general and special damages for the alleged negligence that led to his wife’s death.

Apart from the FMC, the trio of Dr Paulinus Abu, Dr Jerome Ohene and Dr Hussein Micah were also sued by the grieving husband.

Earlier, in a pre-action notice served on the defendants, Benjamin 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.

Benjamin also insisted that disciplinary actions be taken against the doctors, whom he accused of allegedly causing the death of his wife in October 2019.

He also alleged that the surgery performed on his wife by the doctors left her with perforated stomach, just as he decried the dismissal of the scan result, which indicated that Sabina’s gut was perforated, by one of the doctors.

Benjamin 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, Benjamin declared that “the defendants were negligent in the way and manner” they handled the medical condition of his wife, Sabina.

He insisted that his wife died as a result of the defendants’ negligence, prompting him to claim the sum of N159m as general and special damages as well as the 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.”