The Cultured Hell Of Medical Negligence In Nigeria -By O.F. Fashida Esq.

INTRODUCTION

It is no longer strange to public knowledge that enormous Nigerians have lost their lives from the malpractices of medical practitioners. The medical error survey published by Achieves of Medicine and Health Sciences in 2017 showed  the malpractice of medical practitioners at 42.8 percent per 145 medical practitioners. Sequel to the statistics made in 2017, it is a bitter reality that the macro-scale of medical errors in Nigeria increases daily.

Negligence is  a question of fact, not law and it is a fact that the avoidable medical errors of some medical practitioners have gone so deep to the extent that a member of almost every extended family in Nigeria has suffered or,  worse  still,  died  as  a result of the negligence of a medical practitioner in one way or the other. Bearing in mind that no medical practitioner is God, the Court does not expect 100 percent perfection from a medical personnel. While it’s true that God gives and God takes the same, you cannot be too careful. Should we take it as an act of God that while Mrs. Mercy was having an asthma attack in the hospital the nurse on duty reluctantly brought an empty oxygen bottle and while trying to return the empty bottle in exchange for a filled one, Mrs. Mercy died?  Are  we  demanding  100  percent perfection if Mr. God’s-will called for a nurse stating his mum needs an emergency service and the nurse on duty grumbled, only to state thereafter in his presence that she was very tired because she was with her sister who just gave birth?

In law, it is trite that to prove the negligence of a medical  practitioner in  a  court of law, you must primarily show the following three (3) ingredients;

1. That the medical practitioner owed a duty of care to the patient
2. That the duty of care was breached
3. That the patient has suffered an injury resulting from the

THE CULTURED HELL

It is pertinent especially in Nigeria to know that how medical negligence appears in various legal  books  is  different  from its application in reality. Legal  claims founded on medical negligence have proven difficult to establish  and  very  expensive  to pursue. This is a problem highly aggravating for a country having one of the highest poverty rates in the world and still suffering from poor medical services.

The law, no doubt, has made provisions for several channels to seek redress for medical malpractice many of which are;

1. Filing a complaint with the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria, a body vested with the power to investigate and mete out appropriate sanctions should a medical practitioner be found liable for negligence. The sanction could either be a suspension or having the offender’s name struck off the medical register.
2. Filing a civil action in court to seek proper redress or damages as the case may

In addition to the above, a victim or the family of the deceased can also file a report or complaint with the Nigeria Police where it is perceived that the negligence of a medical practitioner resulted from a criminal intent.  However,  of  what  use  and values are these channels? What is the assurance that writing a petition of medical negligence against a medical practitioner who is  a  member  of  the  Medical  and Dental Council would not be swept under the carpet? The Court they say is the last hope of the common man but which medical practitioner would be willing to give expert evidence against his fellow in the profession?  Assuming  without  conceding that a subpoena can be issued to compel a medical practitioner to  give  expert evidence, in reality, what is the statistics of the credibility of expert evidence gotten involuntarily? Another impediment seems to be the inability of many trial Judges to understand the intricacies of medicine and its jargon.

One major challenge hindering the success of seeking redress in a case of medical negligence is the menace of proving the existence of negligence and the cause of this dilemma is not far-fetched. It is also becoming a reality in Nigeria that Medical practitioners may have this sentiment of  covering  up  the  medical malpractice of their colleagues and taking advantage of the ignorance or medical illiteracy of the victim or the families of the deceased, as the case may be. Half of the hurdles in proving Medical Negligence are crossed if a person can  successfully establish that the injury or death of a person happened at the instance of the medical practitioner who was negligent during his duty.

THE CONCLUSION

The incidence of medical negligence has increased sporadically over the years. Despite the government’s crucial role in ensuring that this menace is curbed to its barest minimum, there is no political will because many public office holders don’t patronize Nigerian hospitals.

The educated, clergy, legal practitioners and medical professionals with a conscience should play a more prominent role, especially at the grassroots level, to educate the teeming populace that not all causes are acts of God. It is not always the will of God to be a  victim of  medical  malpractices.  Nigerians should know  when  to let a sleeping dog lie and keeping the dog awake to avoid any form of indolence.

Legal practitioners in the course of obtaining justice for humanity should not shun pro-bono briefs of medical negligence, as another major issue why negligent practitioners are still doing ward rounds in hospitals is because of the unavailability of funds to institute an action. NOT ALL MEDICAL MISHAPS ARE ACTS OF GOD! THE MORE WE PAY ATTENTION TO THE CULTURED HELL OF MEDICAL MALPRACTICE IN  NIGERIA  THE LESS WE FALL PREY  TO  THE COLD HANDS OF DEATH.

OLUWADAMILOLA FUTURE FASHIDA, ESQ; LEGAL ASSOCIATE IN B.O OGUNMODEDE & CO WITH SPECIALTY IN COMMERCIAL & COPORATE LAW, PROPERTY LAW AND HEALTH LAW.

DISCLAIMER: This article is not aimed at defaming or degrading any Individual, Profession or Association, the content of the article is purely based on educative and informative grounds and not a legal advice.

Gmail:futurefashida@gmail.com||I.G: @future_fashida||LinkedIn: Future Fashida (esq)