Why shouldn’t hospital pay Tk 500mn for ‘negligence’ leading to mother, child’s deaths, HC asks

The High Court has issued a rule asking why Tk 500 million should not be paid in compensation after a mother and her newborn child died due to “negligence” in a hospital in Noakhali.

The bench of Justice Fahmida Quader and Justice Mubina Asaf issued the rule following the primary hearing of a writ petition on Thursday.

Lawyer Md Solaiman Tushar represented the petitioner in the court, accompanied by Bayozid Hossain and Nayeem Sardar.

Deputy Attorney General Mohammad Shafiqur Rahman, Deputy Attorney General Mahfuz Bin Yusuf, and Assistant Attorneys General Ekramul Kabir and Md Isa were the state counsels.

Advocate Md Solaiman Tushar told bdnews24.com, “We asked for Tk 500 million in compensation. The court issued a rule after a hearing and asked for responses in four weeks.”

On Feb 5, Tushar filed the petition on behalf of journalist MA Awal, former general secretary of the Senbagh Press Club in Noakhali.

The writ named the health secretary, DGHS director general, Bangladesh Medical and Dental Council registrar, Bangladesh Nursing Midwifery Council registrar, Noakhali civil surgeon, Noakhali South Bangla Hospital Director Mohiuddin, Sonaimuri Health Complex Junior Consultant (Anaesthesia) Dr Md Akter Hossain Avi, his wife Dr Fouzia Farid, a junior lecturer at the Noakhali Medical Assistant Training School (MATS), South Bangla Hospital’s Medical Assistant Jahid Hossain and OT In-Charge Sojib Uddin Hridoy as defendants.

Tushar sent a legal notice to those involved in the petition on Dec 29, 2024.

The notice said that on Oct 16, 2023, Awal went to South Bangla Hospital seeking treatment for his pregnant daughter Umme Salma Nishi. Dr Akter Hossain Avi, his wife Dr Fouzia Farid, and the hospital authorities rushed for a caesarean section on Nishi without formal admission, medical tests or even obtaining the consent of her parents. They did so with the help of the hospital authority and Medical Assistant Jahid. The incident led to the death of the mother and the newborn child.

The notice also said the hospital authorities, Dr Avi and his wife Fouzia referred the patient to Cumilla for ICU support, saying she was in critical condition. The notice claims they did it to cover up the incident. When her parents took the patients to the Tower Hospital in Cumilla, the on-duty doctor said the patient had died a long time ago.

“The victim and her newborn died due to the malpractice by the doctors and the hospital authority, which defies Sections 18 and 32 of the Constitution. They cannot avoid liability.”

The legal notice asked to pay the family Tk 500 million in compensation for the death of Nishi and her child with five days. It also asked for action to be taken against the perpetrators.