THE WAY FORWARDAs clearly seen in cases of medical negligence in the United Kingdom, emphasis is placed on the speedy resolution of Medical negligence cases in instances where genuine claims have been made. In Nigeria however, and rather sadly, a victim of Medical negligence is left to bear the cost of maintaining negligence actions against givers of healthcare and accordingly has to deal with the inconveniences of cost, slow justice delivery, hardship in securing the attendance of expert witnesses (as they are unwilling to testify against their medical colleagues) etc.The delay in addressing Medical negligence is further made worrisome, when one considers the lengthy period of time it takes to dispense with a case of Medical negligence in Nigeria, vis-à-vis the average time frame of 1.4 years in the UK.Numerous examples accordingly abound of the delay in dispensing with cases of Medical negligence: In Rossek and Ors. v. [6]ACB Ltd & Ors, the Suit was filed in 1975 and an order of retrial was given after 18 years of litigation. S.A Abudu v. Alhaja T. Ogunbambi[7] and Sipeolu & Anor v. Allco Engineering Group Nig[8] took 29 years and 25years respectively to conclude at the High Court.It is important to state that although Nigeria has National Health Insurance Act,[9] which essentially provides for a National Health Insurance Scheme, the NHIS is only designed to aid the provision of affordable healthcare and does not include coverage for medical malpractice. It is a social health security system in which the health care of an employee is paid for by both the employer and employee. This is achieved by monthly deductions of 5 per cent of basic salary from an employee and another 10 per cent of basic salary paid by the employee’s employer, which is then pooled together and used for all enrolees.[10] Essentially, there is cross subsidisation where the healthy subsidize for the ill, the young subsidize for the old and the higher income group subsidises for the lower income group.It is obvious that to be able to treat the ills of delay in obtaining justice for cases of Medical negligence, Nigeria needs to toe a similar line with the UK, which is providing insurance coverage to guard against the heavy costs associated with Medical negligence.
Addressing The Need For A More Robust Compensatory Regime In Tackling Cases Of Medical Negligence In Nigeria
CONCLUSION In order to ensure that the victims of Medical negligence are adequately compensated and afforded the needed justice in Nigeria, the government must be willing to make available schemes, such as those obtainable in the UK where health care givers are insured against negligence claims, and settlements (for genuine cases) are prioritised over the lengthy process of Court litigation. [1] Oludamilola Adejumo and Oluseyi Adejumo, ‘Legal Perspectives on Liability for Medical Negligence and Malpractices in Nigeria’ (2018) PAMJ 35(14) < https://www.panafrican-med-journal.com/content/article/35/44/full/ > Accessed February 4 , 2022.[1] Criminal Code, Cap C38 LFN 2004[2] Section 15(1) MDPA[3] NHS Act, 1977[4] The NHS Litigation Authority, ‘Factsheet 2: Financial Information’< http://www.nhsla.com/NR/ rdonlyres/465D7ABD-239F-4273-A01E-C0CED557453D/0/NHSLAFactsheet2financialinformation200708.doc > Accessed 15 March, 2022.[5] (1993) 8 NWLR (pt 312) 382[6] Suit No. LD/89/74[7] Suit No LD/4/78[8] NHIS ACT, LFN 2004.[9] Onyedibe Kenneth et al, ‘An Evaluation of the National Health Insurance Scheme[10] (NHIS) In Jos, A North-Central Nigerian City’ (2012) 1(1) Global Advanced Research Journal of Microbiology < https://irepos.unijos.edu.ng/jspui/bitstream/123456789/1121/1/Onyedibe%20et%20al.pdf > Accessed May 4, 2021. Read More Articles Here.