Avenues Clinic Wins US$520,000 Claim Over Patient’s Death

By Southerton Business Times Reporter, Harare

The High Court has dismissed a US$520,000 claim against Avenues Clinic over the death of former banker Francis Nyadundu, ruling that his family had failed to present expert medical evidence linking the hospital’s alleged negligence to his fatal fall from a hospital bed.

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 not established a sufficient case of negligence and causation. Nyadundu’s widow, Sheila, and their children, Mutsa and Takunda, were ordered to pay the clinic’s legal costs.

The case arose from Nyadundu’s death in March 2024, after he reportedly fell from his hospital bed while being treated for liver cirrhosis. According to evidence presented by the family, Nyadundu had been stable and was awaiting medication ahead of his expected discharge when the incident occurred. The family said he fell from his bed in the early hours of March 10, suffering serious head injuries that proved fatal.

Testifying before the High Court, Takunda said his father had been given lorazepam for restlessness. Nursing notes reportedly recorded an attempt by Nyadundu to climb out of bed before staff raised the bed rails. The family alleged that they were initially informed only that his condition had deteriorated. They said they discovered injuries to his head and face when they arrived at the hospital. A postmortem examination recorded the cause of death as subarachnoid haemorrhage, a skull vault fracture and head trauma.

Family Alleges Negligence

The plaintiffs accused Avenues Clinic of failing to adequately monitor a restless patient who was at risk of falling, provide urgent treatment after the incident, and fully disclose 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 following her husband's death, while Takunda took over his late father's farm to support her. The clinic denied negligence, arguing that Nyadundu had several serious underlying medical conditions and that the care provided was consistent with his treatment plan and his doctor's instructions.

At the close of the family's case, the hospital applied for absolution from the instance, arguing that the plaintiffs had failed to produce expert medical evidence establishing the standard of care expected of its staff, any breach of that standard and a causal connection between the alleged failures and Nyadundu's death.

Judge Says Expert Evidence Was Necessary

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 judge said the plaintiffs were not qualified to determine whether the patient's monitoring intervals met acceptable medical standards.

“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 court noted that the nursing records suggested staff had anticipated the risk of a fall. However, the family had not presented expert evidence showing what additional precautions should have been taken or why the measures documented were inadequate.

The judge also found that no expert evidence had been provided to demonstrate that a faster 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 court further held that the postmortem findings established the medical causes of death but did not, on their own, prove that the hospital's conduct caused the fall or the fatal injuries.

The judge also found deficiencies in the children's claims for loss of financial support, noting that they had not adequately demonstrated the support their father had provided and the losses they suffered following his death.

US$520,000 Claim Ends Without Damages Assessment

With the family having failed to establish a prima facie case of negligence and causation, the court granted absolution from the instance without proceeding to assess the damages claimed. “Having failed to satisfy the fault element, the defendant has nothing to rebut and is entitled to absolution from the instance,” Justice Zimba-Dube said.

The ruling brings the US$520,000 claim to an end at this stage of the proceedings. The court's decision turned on the sufficiency of the evidence presented by the family, particularly the absence of expert medical evidence connecting the alleged shortcomings in care to Nyadundu's death.

Avenues Clinic US$520,000 court case