BY MUNYARADZI BLESSING DOMA
The Avenues Clinic has won a High Court case in which it was accused of medical negligence following the death of a patient who allegedly fell from his hospital bed, with the court ruling that his family had failed to provide sufficient evidence to establish liability.
The case arose from the death of Francis Nyadundu, who was admitted to the private medical institution in March 2024 after being diagnosed with liver cirrhosis.
His wife, Sheila Nyadundu, and their two children, Mutsa and Takunda, sued Medical Investments (Private) Limited, trading as The Avenues Clinic, seeking US$520 000 in damages for the alleged wrongful death of their breadwinner.
However, in a judgment handed down on September 30, 2026, High Court Judge Justice Mary Dube granted the clinic’s application for absolution from the instance at the close of the plaintiffs’ case, effectively ending the claim without requiring the institution to present its defence.
The court found that the family had failed to establish a prima facie case of medical negligence, particularly because they had not presented expert medical evidence to demonstrate that the clinic’s conduct fell below the required professional standards and caused Nyadundu’s death.
In their claim, the family alleged that the hospital’s staff had left Nyadundu unattended despite knowing that he required special care and attention.
They further accused the institution of failing to take adequate measures to prevent the fall, delaying the notification of his doctor and family about his injuries, and failing to ensure that he received appropriate medical attention after the incident.
The family also alleged that the clinic had concealed the cause of his death.
According to evidence presented in court, Nyadundu had become restless and appeared dizzy while in hospital. Nursing notes indicated that he had attempted to get out of bed and was assisted back, prompting staff to raise the bed rails and remove clutter to reduce the risk of a fall.
He was also administered lorazepam to manage his restlessness.
The family alleged that Nyadundu fell from his hospital bed during the night of March 10, 2024, and sustained serious head injuries. They said they were subsequently informed that his condition had deteriorated and were told of his death when they arrived at the hospital.
A postmortem examination recorded head trauma and intracranial haemorrhage among the findings relating to his death.
However, The Avenues Clinic denied negligence, arguing that Nyadundu had several serious underlying medical conditions and had received care in accordance with his treatment plan and his doctor’s instructions.
In its ruling, the court acknowledged that the hospital owed Nyadundu a duty of care following his admission and that the nursing notes suggested staff had anticipated the risk of a fall.
However, Justice Dube said foreseeability of a fall alone did not establish that the hospital had breached its duty of care or that any alleged failure by its staff had caused the death.
The judge ruled that the family needed to provide evidence establishing the expected standard of medical care, how the clinic had departed from that standard and the connection between the alleged negligence and the death.
The court held that expert medical evidence was necessary to determine whether the monitoring arrangements, fall-prevention measures and treatment provided after the incident were professionally adequate.
It also found that the postmortem report, while providing information about the physical cause of death, did not independently establish that the hospital’s conduct had caused the fall or the resulting death.
“The mere fact that a person admitted in hospital falls from a hospital bed and dies should not on its own automatically justify a defendant to answer a plaintiff’s claim without a causal link between the fall and the death,” Justice Dube said.
The court further found shortcomings in the children’s claims, noting that they had not adequately established the legal basis of their alleged loss of financial support following their father’s death.
Having concluded that the plaintiffs had failed to establish a prima facie case of negligence and causation, the court granted the clinic’s application for absolution from the instance.
The court also ordered Sheila, Mutsa and Takunda Nyadundu to pay the defendant’s legal costs, jointly and severally.
