A Nairobi woman has won a Sh7.5 million compensation case against Pumwani Maternity Hospital over negligence during her labour in 2019, which resulted in the death of her baby and the unnecessary removal of her uterus.

High Court Judge Lawrence Mugambi ruled that the hospital failed to provide urgent care despite admitting the woman, referred to in court papers as LL, to handle an emergency. She reportedly waited for 11 hours without the critical attention she needed.

“A declaration is hereby issued that the mishandling and deliberate neglect of the petitioner by the doctors and nurses at the respondent’s facility, which thereafter led to the death of the petitioner’s baby and the unwarranted negligent removal of her uterus, violated Article 43(1)(a) of the Constitution,” Justice Mugambi stated.

The court highlighted that the hospital did not uphold LL’s right to the highest standards of healthcare, human dignity, and protection from mental or psychological suffering.

Evidence presented showed that on 19 October 2019, LL left her home in Mukuru kwa Reuben around 7am with her husband, in severe pain. On arrival, nurses assured her she would be taken to theatre immediately.

Instead, she was repeatedly examined but left without adequate treatment. Her water broke around 3pm, yet intervention was delayed until 9pm.

The next day, a nurse informed her that her baby had died and that doctors had removed her uterus, showing both in a basin beneath her bed.

LL later reported the incident to the Kenya Medical Practitioners and Dentists Council. Its Disciplinary and Ethics Committee found in September 2022 that the hospital had failed to prioritise her case, noting that a timely emergency caesarean could have saved her baby and prevented her suffering.

The committee ordered the hospital to mediate for compensation within 120 days. LL told the court that her letters were ignored, leaving her to seek legal redress.

“The nurses were callous and irresponsible,” LL testified. “The experience stripped me of my dignity as a woman and violated my constitutional rights.” Justice Mugambi affirmed her claims, noting that the hospital’s negligence not only took away her chance at motherhood but also caused lasting psychological harm.

“The social stigma she will endure for the inability to bear a child, yet it was her desire together with her husband, robbed the dignity and joy of motherhood. This is a violation of Article 28 of the Constitution,” the judge said.