Through his father, Bankole George, Nelson initiated the lawsuit. He also pleaded for Justice Akanbi Yusuf of the FCT High Court, Kubwa, to issue an order instructing the hospital to reimburse him for the ₦5 million he paid to file the lawsuit.
In a lawsuit filed on August 28 under the file number FCT/HC/CV/7356/2023 by attorney Emmanuel Ekpenyong of Fred-Young & Evans LP, Nelson also asked the court to issue an order compelling the medical facility to send him a letter of apology for the alleged misconduct.
According to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), the claimant has joined the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission, the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria, and the Medical and Dental Practitioners’ Investigation Panel as the 2nd to 4th defendants in the case.
The claimant further requested that the court rule that to safeguard and advance his interests and well-being, as well as the wellbeing of Nigerian citizens, the 2nd to 4th defendants should take more proactive initiative in making sure they carry out their responsibilities as stipulated in the laws that established them.
Nelson stated in his joint statement of claim that he is currently 11 years old, in Junior Secondary School 3, and lives under the parentship of Bankole George who is his next friend and legal guardian.
According to the statement, Nelson benefited from Bankole's Abuja Health Insurance Scheme. It claims that on January 30, 2023, Bankole saw that Nelson, the claimant, had swollen genitalia and scrotum in addition to severe abdominal discomfort.
Bankole immediately hurried the claimant to the first defendant's hospital, which is one of the facilities mentioned in Bankole's NHIS package for the claimant and his family members.
The claimant was admitted to the first defendant's hospital for treatment following preliminary checks. Nelson was subsequently given laboratory testing, which included a genital scan.
“In the scan report, the Sonologist concluded that the claimant suffered from Epididymo-orchitis/Torsion.
“The claimant was admitted at the 1st defendant’s hospital for 4 (four) days to undergo treatment for acute Epidydymo-orchitis only without addressing the Torsion in the scan report.
“He was discharged from the 1st defendant’s hospital in the evening of 2 February, 2023,”
“Painfully, on the evening of 9 February 2023, at about 11 pm, the claimant complained of discomfort in his genitals and the same abdominal pains.
“Bankole took the claimant back to the 1st defendant’s hospital on the morning of Friday, 10 February 2023.
“The claimant was again admitted and this time treated for malaria, sepsis and peptic ulcer disease with a series of tests conducted once more.
“The abdominal pains subsided and the claimant was discharged the second time in the evening of 11 February 2023,” the statement of claim read as quoted by NAN.
Additionally, it stated that on February 13, Nelson complained of severe abdominal pain and enlarged genitalia once more. Bankole was recommended to transport the claimant to a different hospital for an accurate diagnosis and course of treatment.
“The claimant was taken to Nisa Premier Hospital Abuja (“the Nisa Premier”),” the court document said.
Following an initial assessment and scan that revealed Nelson had Testicular Torsion ("TT"), a urologist and his colleagues at Nisa Premier expeditiously performed scrotal surgery.
The claim was made in the statement that they subsequently learned that the claimant's testes had completely deteriorated as a result of Limi Children's Hospital Limited's failure to promptly identify and perform surgery on him.
However, Limi Hospital insisted that their actions were compliant with accepted medical practice and denied any misconduct. Additionally, on April 6, Limi Hospital's legal representative responded to Nelson's attorney, Ekpenyong, absolving the hospital of responsibility and liability for the boy’s predicament.
Nelson's attorney allegedly filed a petition with the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria as a result, and the panel claimed it lacked jurisdiction over the matter when Nelson's affidavit reached it.
Ekpenyong allegedly filed a petition with the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission following that, but the agency did not take any action in response to the allegation.
Therefore, Nelson claimed that Limi Hospital had a duty to appropriately diagnose him as a patient to stop his illness from getting worse to the point where he would lose one of his testes. The defendants have yet to respond to the lawsuit served on them.
The suit's hearing was scheduled for December 20 by Justice Yusuf.