Mother wins P1, 8 million for Nyangabgwe’s negligence

The state has failed to defend a lawsuit which was instituted following a negligent act by Dr Corbet Mcharo at Nyangabwe referral hospital in 2011.

Late last year a broken hearted mother, Lalu Mazhani, 38 dragged the state before Francistown High Court and sued Nyangwabwe hospital for P4.3 million for an operation gone wrong that claimed the life of her 13 year old daughter, Zandile Mazhani a year and some months after it was performed.

Mazhani was also suing for emotional trauma and sought a post mortem report of the cause of her child’s death. The incident followed hard on a periphrastic operation that was carried on her daughter at the hospital which later unintentionally left surgical gauze which later tempered with the child’s well-being.

Delivering his judgement on Tuesday, Justice Bengbame Sechele said the child’s death according to the plaintiff was a direct result of a surgical gauze that was sewn up inside her daughter’s body during surgery. However he said that Dr Mcharo said that there was no negligence in the manner that the surgery was conducted, thereby conceding that a surgical gauze was inadvertently left in the deceased’s body during surgery. He further maintained that the surgical gauze aforesaid did not cause the deceased’s death.

“Most of the evidence that was led at this trial was common cause. It was not in dispute, for example, that a surgical gauze was inadvertently left and sewn up in deceased’s body after surgery. The only dispute there is, is whether such inadvertence was due to negligence and whether the surgical gauze caused the medical complications that ultimately led to deceased’s demise,” said Sechele.

Furthermore he brought to the court’s attention that Mazhani’s evidence in a nutshell was that her daughter was in and out of the hospital. He said that she stated in her evidence that many tests were conducted on her daughter with no luck of helping her to relieve her constant complaints of abdominal pains. Justice Sechele said that a Computerized Tomography (CT) scan was carried out at Nyangabwe hospital. “The result of the scan revealed something on the deceased’s right side,” he said adding that she then booked for a biopsy procedure for the 14 October 2010  which unfortunately before the procedure was due the deceased passed out a surgical gauze when she was relieving herself. Sechele explained that the plaintiff took the gauze to hospital and it was confirmed to be a surgical gauze. However Sechele said that the hospital denied that there was no way in which a gauze could have been sewn in the deceased’s body.

He said that after the gauze was expelled from her body her condition did not stabilise and she was taken to several facilities including Gaborone Private Hospital. “The deceased’s health continued on a downward spiral until she passed away after being re-admitted at Nyangabwe hospital on the 23 June 2011 and passed away the following day,” he said.

Sechele also brought it to the court’s attention an expert, Dr Davis Makwinja who was called by the plaintiff’s attorney to the stand and testified that a surgical gauze was a foreign body. Justice Sechele said that Makwinja cemented his statement saying that since it was not accepted by the body it caused adhesions and perforations in the deceased’s bowels. He also said that Makwinja said that the surgical gauze was in the deceased’s body for three months which brought about calcification in the form of gangrenous growths as the body tried to fight off infection and isolate the foreign object.

“The doctor also maintained that surgical staff was under a duty to account for all the materials used during surgery. Had this been done, the surgical team would have noticed that the surgical gauze had not been accounted for,” he said. He said that Dr Mcharo confirmed that the cause of deceased’s death was bowel gangrene secondary to adhesion bind.

Passing his judgement Sechele considered “Whether the defendants were negligent in the manner in which they conducted surgery on the deceased? Whether or not defendants’ negligence, if any was the cause of deceased’s death? In the event that the defendants’ death whether the plaintiff suffered damages, and if do the quantum thereof.” Having taken all the circumstances of the case Sechele said he will award damages to the plaintiff in the sum of two million pula which will be discounted by ten percent. “The defendant will bear the costs of this action,” he said.

Mbiganyi Mhizha of Chakalisa and Phumaphi Attorneys represented the plaintiff while Wedu Maphane appeared for the State. The mother told this publication outside court that she was happy with the judge’s decision. “Justice has finally been served for my baby girl after five years,” said Mazhani.