Court dismisses petition accusing Longisa Hospital of negligence

The High Court in Bomet has dismissed a petition accusing Longisa County Referral Hospital of medical negligence following the death of a girl from bee stings.

Diana Chepng’eno was stung by bees while playing with two other children on November 9, 2024.

The children were taken to hospital, treated and the other two discharged.

However, Chepng’eno’s aunt, Joan Cherotich, who sued as the administrator of her estate, told the court that nurses allegedly ignored her niece’s suffering for hours.

“It was the second petitioner’s case that at around 8.30 pm, she was told that the first respondent did not have the medicine to counter the venom and that Chepng’eno had to be transferred to a better hospital (Tenwek Hospital),” court documents show.

“That she was to part with Sh5,000 for the ambulance fuel and an additional Sh50,000 for admission at Tenwek Hospital.”

Unable to raise the money, the family used a private vehicle to take her to Tenwek Hospital, but she began vomiting blood and was pronounced dead upon arrival.

The petitioners, including the Independent Medico-Legal Unit and Kelin as an interested party, argued that the hospital’s alleged failure to provide emergency treatment for hours amounted to torture, cruel and inhuman treatment, and violated the right to health and life.

They also blamed the Bomet County Government for systemic failures, including the alleged lack of an intensive care unit at the facility.

In response, the hospital and its medical superintendent, Dr Esau Kipngeno Langat, told the court that Chepng’eno was immediately put on emergency treatment and monitored continuously from the moment she arrived until the family opted to transfer her.

He said the girl was already in a critical condition due to a delay in bringing her for treatment, unlike the other children who were treated and discharged.

In a judgment delivered on Monday, Justice Julius Ng’arng’ar ruled that the family had failed to prove that any breach of duty directly caused her death.

“From my analysis of the video evidence, it is my finding that it is insufficient to prove causation. It simply showed the victim in pain and the first respondent's staff in the background,” the judge said.

“The evidence failed to show a link between the first respondent’s staff’s actions or omission to the victim’s distress.”

On the treatment provided, Justice Ng’arng’ar noted that the petitioners partly relied on hearsay regarding the hours before Cherotich arrived at the hospital.

“It was also an undisputed fact that the victim’s friends who had been stung by the same bees were brought to the first respondent at around noon, which meant that the victim was brought for medical attention approximately one-and-a-half hours after her friends,” the judge observed.

“From the testimonies and pleadings, it was clear that the victim upon arrival at the first respondent was in stage 3 anaphylaxis reaction…which according to Dr Esau Kipngeno Langat (RW1) and Dr Vincent Langat (PW3) could be fatal.”

He further noted that the family did not provide evidence to support the claim that the hospital demanded Sh5,000 and Sh50,000.

The petition, which sought declarations of rights violations and orders for general, aggravated and exemplary damages, was dismissed with no order as to costs.