BY KUSEKWA KUSEKWA
The High Court in Arusha has dismissed a rare case in Tanzania of professional negligence in which a city resident, Bernard Matala, was demanding Sh. 350m in compensation from Shree Hindu Union Charitable Hospital for causing him deafness allegedly through the application of expired eardrop medication to his right ear. Judge Mwenda ruled in favour of the Board of Trustees of the Hospital and Doctor Samya Yusuph, the defendants, after Matala, who is also a former leader of UTALII Ngoma Troupe, failed to prove his claims.
“In light of the foregoing, the court finds that the plaintiff has failed to establish the elements of negligence, causation, and liability against the defendants. The claim is therefore dismissed with costs. It is so ordered,” the judge declared in a judgement delivered recently.
He noted that the said medicine known as Candid Clotrimazole 1% was manufactured in March 2021 and it was set to expire in February 2023, meaning the end use of the said medicine was on February 28, entailing the same could not be used after that date. “As the plaintiff received medication on February 27, 2023, it is thus clear that it was applied before (the) expiry date,” the judge said. He further noted from the evidence that the medicine was prescribed for use for two days only, contrary to claims by the plaintiff that he was supposed to use it for 14 days.
