The High Court has ordered Pumwani Maternity Hospital to pay a Nairobi woman a total of Ksh 7.5 million in damages after finding that doctors and nurses at the facility acted with gross negligence during her 2019 delivery by delaying emergency treatment for more than eleven hours despite clear indications of a critical condition.
This lapse ultimately resulted in the stillbirth of her child and the unwarranted, non-consensual removal of her uterus, thereby violating her constitutional rights to the highest attainable standards of healthcare, inherent human dignity, and freedom from psychological torture.
In a judgment delivered by Justice Lawrence Mugambi, the court heard that the woman identified in court records as LL, who lived in Mukuru kwa Reuben, left her home at 7am on October 19, 2019, in severe pain and was rushed to Pumwani where nurses assured her she would be taken to theatre immediately, only to leave her repeatedly reviewed but untreated until 3 pm when her water broke without any intervention, and ultimately until 9 pm when she was finally taken to theatre.
The attending staff only informed her the following day that her baby had died and that they had, without her consent, removed her uterus, later placing both the dead infant and the excised organ in a basin beneath her bed.
Evidence presented in court showed that LL lodged a formal complaint with the Kenya Medical Practitioners and Dentists Council on May 26, 2021, leading to a September 28, 2022 ruling by the Council’s Disciplinary and Ethics Committee which determined that the prioritization of her case was improper, that the delay in taking her to theatre constituted a serious gap in patient management, and that no mitigation measures or timely referrals were made despite her case being designated as an emergency caesarean section.
These findings prompted an order for the hospital to initiate mediation and agree on compensation within 120 days, an order that Pumwani ignored by failing to contact her or respond to her letters, forcing her to seek legal redress in court.
LL told the court that the actions of the hospital’s staff caused her immense physical pain, permanent loss of reproductive ability, and severe emotional distress, stripping her of the joy of motherhood and subjecting her to lasting mental anguish and social stigma, a position the court agreed with in holding that the hospital’s conduct robbed her of both her child and her dignity as a woman, and therefore warranted the award of Ksh 7.5 million in damages.
The case is likely to intensify public debate on the quality of maternal care offered at Pumwani, a facility that has for years been at the centre of public complaints over patient mistreatment, delays in emergency response, and poor management of critical cases.
Justice Mugambi’s ruling not only compels the hospital to compensate LL for the devastating personal loss she suffered but also signals a judicial stance that prolonged delays and disregard for urgent medical needs will attract heavy financial consequences.
