Liberian health officials say student Williams died due to a malfunctioning Anaesthesia Machine at St. Joseph Catholic Hospital.
Monrovia, January 20, 2025: Saint Joseph Catholic Hospital in Congo Town has been found liable and fined US$30,000 for damages over the wrongful death of 21-year-old Student Isaiah Benedicto Williams.
Williams accidentally passed away on January 3, 2025, in the operation theater of the Catholic hospital after his admittance there.
However, the family of the deceased has claimed wrongful medication.
The family suggested that an overdose of the patient might have caused his demise.
They are demanding justice over student Williams' death.
While the family seeks a lawsuit for the damage, the Liberia Medical and Dental Council (LMDC) says it has found St. Joseph Catholic Hospital liable on multiple pieces of evidence of the death of Williams.
Williams was due to depart Liberia for Kigali, Rwanda, to continue his education after completing his secondary education at the St. Edward Catholic High School in 2022.
The LMDC released its final verdict on Williams' on Friday, January 17, 2025, at its office in Sinkor.
The Chairperson of the Liberia Medical and Dental Council, Pediatric Dr. Benetta Collins Andrew, said the hospital was found liable due to a lack of standard operation procedure after adjudication through a thorough evaluation.
She said there was a serious medical error on the part of the hospital while mentioning that a malfunctioning anesthesia machine caused the student's death.
According to her, investigations discovered that the hospital did not have a single properly functioning anesthesia machine to carry out a standard surgery.
"Through our investigation, we found out standard- operating procedure did not go on, and there was never a functional
Anaesthesia Machine," she said.
"We also want to hold the hospital liable because even the doctor who was in charge of the operation, Dr. Thadee's license, has expired," she explained.
As a doctor, Dr. Collins Andrew noted that you do not practice medicine for even a second without an active license.
She detailed that Dr. NGOY-MULUME Thadee, the Congolese-trained pediatrician who has been at the center of the investigation, perhaps was caught on the web for wrongfully administering a medication that might have caused the late Williams' death.
She noted that perhaps Thadee did not have an active license to perform surgery.
She stressed that complications arose after the deceased received anesthesia administered by a nurse anesthetist, resulting in a severe reaction that ultimately led to his death.
The lead surgeon, Dr. Thaddee Ngoy, was unable to proceed with the surgery due to the said complications.
As the only trained CPR practitioner in the operating theater, Dr. Ngoy attempted to resuscitate the patient.
However, his efforts were hampered by non-functional equipment, preventing the proper management of the critical resuscitation phase.
The Chairperson of the LMDC, Dr. Andrew, continued that as of January 1, every year, according to Medical protocols, every doctor or nurse practicing medicine in the Country must have an active license to practice before performing surgery or other critical medication.
Dr. Andrew said Dr. Thadee did not meet in time and has been held liable and fined the amount of USD$1,500 to be paid fully and registered before he continues medical practice in the country.
Dr. Andrew also mentioned that as part of holding the hospital liable, the consent form that is usually given by the medical facility in time for the Surgical procedure was not properly documented as required per the surgery on the late Williams.
She explained that the consent form in the possibility of death and cardiac arrest was not clear, per the kind of surgery that was to be done on the deceased, the investigation found.
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Meanwhile, Dr. Andrew reiterated that the investigation was done by the LMDC through evaluation of the patient's corpse from the hospital morgue and assessment by both Liberian Pathologists Dr. Benedict Kolee and Dr. Zoebon Kpadeh.
She noted that the LMDC, through its board, came out to find the hospital Administration $30,000 United States Dollars for damages.
"Based on the Investigation and all of the findings towards our evidence, the St. Joseph Catholic hospital is hereby held liable for the death of Student Isaiah, a potential student whose life was cut short due to lack of standard procedure, Dr. Andrew said.
She added that the Council has also suspended nurse Miatta Dahn for six months due to her role in the administration of anesthesia, which led to complications.
During her suspension, she will work under the supervision of a designated anesthesiologist.
