Avenues Clinic beats US$520,000 suit over banker's fatal fall

THE High Court has dismissed a US$520,000 lawsuit against Avenues Clinic over the death of a former banker who fell from his hospital bed, ruling that his family failed to present expert medical evidence establishing negligence.

Justice Zimba-Dube granted absolution from the instance to Medical Investments (Private) Limited, which operates the Harare-based private hospital, after finding that the family had failed to establish a prima facie case linking the clinic's alleged shortcomings to Francis Nyadundu's death in March 2024.

His widow, Sheila Nyadundu, and their children, Mutsa and Takunda, were ordered to pay the clinic's legal costs.

Nyadundu had been admitted to the hospital suffering from liver cirrhosis and was reportedly stable while awaiting medication ahead of his expected discharge.

However, in the early hours of March 10, 2024, he allegedly fell from his hospital bed, sustained serious head injuries and subsequently died.

Giving evidence at the High Court, Takunda said his father had been administered lorazepam for restlessness, while nursing notes reportedly recorded an attempt by the patient to climb out of bed before staff raised the bed rails.

The family alleged that hospital staff informed them only that Nyadundu's condition had deteriorated. Upon arriving at the hospital, they discovered injuries to his head and face.

A postmortem examination attributed his death to subarachnoid haemorrhage, a skull vault fracture and head trauma.

The family accused the clinic of leaving a vulnerable and restless patient unattended, failing to provide urgent treatment following the fall and concealing the circumstances surrounding his death.

They also told the court that the loss had caused significant emotional and financial hardship. Sheila reportedly developed hypertension and depression, while Takunda took over his late father's farm to support her.

Avenues Clinic denied negligence, arguing that Nyadundu had several serious underlying medical conditions and had received treatment in accordance with his doctor's instructions and prescribed care plan.

At the close of the family's case, the hospital applied for absolution from the instance, arguing that the plaintiffs had failed to provide expert evidence establishing the applicable standard of medical care, any breach of that standard or a causal link between the alleged negligence and the death.

Justice Zimba-Dube accepted that the hospital owed Nyadundu a duty of care but found that the family had not demonstrated that the duty had been breached.

"The plaintiffs cannot authoritatively speak to whether the monitoring intervals were reasonable, sufficient or to the acceptable standard as they are not medical experts," she said.

The judge noted that the nursing records suggested hospital staff had anticipated the risk of a fall. However, the family had not provided expert evidence showing what additional precautions were medically required or why the measures taken were inadequate.

She also found no expert evidence demonstrating that a quicker medical response following the fall would have prevented Nyadundu's death.

"A fall alone in a hospital setting resulting in death of a patient cannot raise inferences of negligence without exploring the circumstances of the fall and evidence from a medical expert," she ruled.

The judge said the postmortem established the cause of death but did not prove that the hospital's conduct had caused the fall or the fatal injuries.

She further found that the two children had not adequately substantiated their individual claims for loss of financial support, including evidence of the support their father had provided and the financial losses they suffered following his death.

Concluding that the family had failed to establish the essential elements of negligence and causation, Justice Zimba-Dube granted absolution from the instance without assessing the US$520,000 in damages sought.

"Having failed to satisfy the fault element, the defendant has nothing to rebut and is entitled to absolution from the instance," she said.