An Accra High Court has awarded Mohammed Mustapha, the husband of a pregnant woman, Akua Nyarko Osei-Bonsu, who died after a Caesarean Section at the Greater Accra Regional Hospital in November 2019, GH¢3 million in damages.

This follows a lawsuit filed by Mustapha in 2020, accusing the Greater Accra Regional Hospital, the Ministry of Health, and the Attorney General of negligence that led to the death of his wife after a Caesarean Section at the facility, as reported by thelawplatform.online.

Background

The pregnant woman, Akua Nyarko Osei-Bonsu, had been receiving antenatal care at the Ridge Hospital since 2019.

In November, a Doppler scan at the hospital revealed that she had severe Intrauterine Growth Restriction( IGUR) and abnormal umbilical artery and Abnormal Umbilical Artery Doppler, a condition which pointed to placental insufficiency.

Based on these findings, the report said, an emergency Caesarean Section was scheduled in December 2019 to save the lives of mother and baby.

However after the operation, Akua developed thromboembolism, which led to her death and that of the baby.

Claims of negligence

In 2020, roughly a year after the death of his wife, Mustapha initiated legal action against the hospital, the Ministry of Health and the Attorney General, at an Accra High Court.

He claimed damages arising from the death of his wife to the tune of GH¢5 million.

The General Jurisdiction 7 of the High Court in the case of Mohammed Mustapha v Attorney-General, Ministry of Health judgement delivered judgement on July 31, 2024, the report said .

It upheld the claims of Mustapha but awarded more than half of the quantum of damages arising from negligent conduct of the Greater Accra Regional Hospital, located at Ridge.

His lawyers argued that the Ridge Hospital, staff and management were negligent in their duties.

They said the hospital’s standard care includes both a pre- operating and postoperative standard care which includes prophylactic anticoagulant therapy, which the hospital’s management failed to adhere to, to prevent conditions like thromboembolism.

Although Mustapha purchased the necessary anticoagulant, it was not administered to his wife, the report added.

His legal team said although the hospital was aware of his wife’s condition, they failed to take preventive measures.

They pointed out that other methods such as the use of compression stockings and early mobilisation should have been employed to prevent thromboembolism, a condition in which a blood clot (thrombus) breaks off from its original site and travels through the bloodstream.

They cited the failure of these preventive methods as leading to her death.

The Court upheld Mustapha’s claim of negligence, stating that the hospital failed to provide adequate care to the deceased, emphasising that their care fell below the standard procedure.

The court said there was a breach of the National Health Policy and Ghana’s commitment to maternal healthcare mortality under the Sustainable Development Goal, which seeks to end preventable deaths of newborns and children under 5 years of age, with all countries aiming to reduce neonatal mortality to at least as low as 12 per 1,000 live births and under-5 mortality to at least as low as 25 per 1,000 live births by the end of 2030.

Source: Ghanaweb