High Court Orders 6-year-old to Be Paid Ksh 500,000

The High Court on Tuesday directed that a six-year-old girl is paid Ksh500,000 in damages due to medical impropriety by the Kilifi government, its secretary and the Malindi hospital superintendent. 

On Tuesday, Judge Weldon Korir ruled that the three parties were equally liable for the injury the minor sustained during treatment at the facility.

According to Justice Korir, the superintendent failed to take due care and diligence while offering intravenous therapy (IV).

He noted that the child suffered a soft tissue injury resulting in a scar on her head, where hair did not grow.

“The medical superintendent failed to apply the proper medical standards in the circumstances. This court cannot turn a blind eye on the scar it saw on the minor’s scalp,” Judge Korir stated.

“Considering that the wound took longer to heal, the ugly scar left after the healing and the psychological impact it will have on the plaintiff, I find an award of Ksh500,000 ideal as general damages,” he ruled.

The child, through her parents Goko Kimani and Lucy Wanjohi, filed the case in 2015 against the hospital employee, the county and its secretary, claiming she was wrongly treated in November 2012 at the then Malindi District hospital.

In her testimony, Wanjohi stated that the IV line was wrongly inserted in her year-old baby’s scalp and resulted in swelling.

She noted that upon the removal of the line, her daughter lost vision for five days and that a festering wound developed on her scalp, leading to complications.

Mr Kimani, on his part, stated that their daughter underwent a lot of suffering and his businesses collapsed.

In his ruling, Justice Korir pointed out that the child may also become a self-conscious woman due to the pain she suffered and the resultant scar.