11-year-old student, Nelson George has filed an N100 million suit against Limi Children’s Hospital Limited over alleged misdiagnosis and mistreatment leading to the damage of one of his testes.

Nelson, a Junior Secondary School 3 student who filed the suit through his father, Bankole George, also prayed Justice Akanbi Yusuf of a High Court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) sitting in Kubwa, to order the hospital to pay him N5 million as cost of filing the suit.

In the suit marked: FCT/HC/CV/7356/2023 filed on August 28 by his lawyer, Emmanuel Ekpenyong, the student further prayed the court for an order directing the medical outfit to issue a letter of apology to him for the alleged misconduct.

The claimant also joined the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria, Medical and Dental Practitioners’ Investigation Panel and Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission as 2^nd to 4^th defendants in the matter.

He equally urged the court to declare that the 2^nd to 4^th defendants ought to be more proactive in ensuring that they perform their duties under their mandate as provided in the respective legislations establishing them to protect and promote his interests and wellbeing, including that of members of the Nigerian public.

The statement said, Nelson was one of the beneficiaries of Bankole’s Health Insurance Scheme in Abuja and that, on 30^th January, 2023, Bankole discovered that the claimant (Nelson) was having serious abdominal pains and his genital and scrotum were swollen.

“Bankole promptly rushed the claimant to the 1^st defendant’s hospital which is one of the hospitals listed in Bankole’s package of the NHIS for himself and his family members to which the claimant Is one.

“After preliminary checks, the claimant was admitted at the 1^st defendant’s hospital for treatment,” it said and added that the hospital then conducted laboratory tests on Nelson, including a scan on his genitals.

“In the scan report, the Sonologist concluded that the claimant suffered from Epididymo-orchitis/Torsion.

The claimant was admitted at the 1^st defendant’s hospital for four days to undergo treatment for acute Epidydymo-orchitis only without addressing the Torsion in the scan report.

“He was discharged from the 1^st defendant’s hospital in the evening of 2^nd February 2023. Painfully, on the evening of 9^th February 2023, at about 11 pm, the claimant complained of discomfort in his genitals and the same abdominal pains.

“Bankole took the claimant back to the 1^st defendant’s hospital on the morning of Friday, 10^th February 2023. The claimant was again admitted and this time treated for malaria, sepsis and peptic ulcer disease with a series of tests conducted once more.

“The abdominal pains subsided and the claimant was discharged the second time in the evening of 11^th February, 2023,” it said.

It further said that on February 13, Nelson again complained of excruciating abdominal pains and his genitals were swollen, and Bankole was advised to take the claimant to another hospital for proper diagnosis and treatment.

“The claimant was taken to Nisa Premier Hospital, Abuja it said and after preliminary examination and a scan which showed that Nelson had Testicular Torsion (TT), a urologist and his team at Nisa Premier promptly carried out surgery on his scrotum.

It said Limi Hospital, however, denied any wrongdoing and maintained that their action was in line with standard medical protocol.

Besides, Limi Hospital’s counsel, on April 6, also wrote to Nelson’s lawyer, Ekpenyong, and absolved the hospital from any wrongdoing or liability.

It said Nelson’s lawyer, therefore, petitioned the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria and that when Nelson’s affidavit got to the Medical and Dental Practitioners’ Investigation Panel, the panel said it had no jurisdiction on the subject matter.

It said Ekpenyong thereafter petitioned the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission but the commission did not act on the complaint.

Nelson, therefore, averred that Limi Hospital owed him a duty as a patient to properly diagnose his medical condition to prevent a deterioration of his condition to the extent of losing one of his testes.

The defendants were yet to respond to the originating processes served on them at the time of this report.

Meanwhile, Justice Yusuf has fixed December 20 for the hearing of the suit. (Nigerian Tribune)

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