Private legal practitioner Phoebe Ampofo Ofori has observed that only a competent court of jurisdiction can officially pronounce that medical negligence occurred in the matter concerning the death of the late Charles Amissah.
She described the case as a two-sided coin, noting that a definitive finding of negligence remains absent until a court delivers its ruling.
She clarified that, within the Ghanaian legal context, medical negligence occurs when a healthcare professional or facility breaches the expected standard of care through an action or omission that results in harm, injury, or death.
To establish this, she explained that the law requires proof of a breached duty of care which directly resulted in actual damage.
According to the practitioner, the case must be examined to determine whether the hospital or medical professionals failed to act in accordance with practices accepted as proper by a reasonable body of medical peers.
In doing so, it must be established whether the facility or professionals owed the deceased a duty of care, whether that duty was breached through negligent conduct, and whether said breach caused the patient actual harm.
If these elements are proven, the court will then determine the appropriate legal remedies or sanctions, she argued.
Speaking in an interview on Nyankonton Mu Nsem on Rainbow Radio 87.5FM, the lawyer indicated that although a committee report exists, its findings have not yet been presented before a competent court.
Consequently, she stressed the importance of exercising restraint rather than prematurely pronouncing guilt against the mentioned medical professionals.
She further noted that there are scenarios where a court might determine that a report and its findings did not follow established protocols, which could render the evidence inadmissible.
However, if it is proven that the facilities involved owed the deceased a duty of care and failed to uphold it, the family is entitled to seek redress in court. As the situation stands, no court has yet pronounced any party guilty.”
Referencing the broader legal framework, she noted that Article 13 of the 1992 Constitution guarantees the right to life, stipulating that no individual should be denied this right except under specific legal circumstances.
Furthermore, Article 34, under the Directive Principles of State Policy, enjoins state authorities to provide measures that ensure adequate healthcare facilities for citizens.
She also highlighted the Ghana Health Service Patient’s Charter, which provides for the right to quality basic healthcare.
“These legal provisions ensure that the facilities to which the deceased was taken owed him an inherent duty of care.
To satisfy these legal requirements, it must be determined whether the healthcare facilities conducted themselves professionally and in accordance with the law. If they failed to do so, accountability must be demanded from those whose decisions denied the deceased that duty of care.”
Phoebe Ampofo Ofori added that the family, or those with legal standing regarding his estate, may bring an action before a competent court.
When asked whether the sanctions currently being taken against the doctors and officials mentioned in the report could serve as grounds for a lawsuit—given that such actions might seem to admit wrongdoing—she remarked that “it is quite a tricky situation. No court has determined the matter. Whether this will survive in court is for the case to be presented and adjudicated.
She concluded by underscoring the need for standards and professional ethics to be strictly followed in health facilities to ensure that all patients receive the highest quality of care.
By: Rainbowradioonline.com/Ghana
