Monrovia — Karen Gaydou Sehkehporh's situation is worsening by the day and might die if immediate action is nòt taken by those responsible to ensure she gets urgent medical attention.
"She might die not because there is no cure. Not because help is unavailable, but because her lawyer, Cllr. F. Juah Lawson and the Government of Liberia (GoL) continue to sit idly while she slips further into illness, even after the Supreme Court of Liberia ruled in her favor," a family source told frontPage Africa.
In a nation that claims to be governed by laws, Madam Sehkehporh's case has now become a horrifying symbol of legal abandonment, professional betrayal, and institutional silence.
On February 17, 2025, Liberia's highest court, Supreme Court ruled that the John F. Kennedy Medical Center (JFK) was liable for medical malpractice that nearly took Madam Sehkehporh's life.
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The Supreme Court ordered JFK to pay her US$350,000 in damages. That ruling should have brought closure and possible healing, but its over eight months now, not a single dollar has reached her.
Instead, Madam Sehkehporh is sicker than ever, bedridden and now begging for survival through a "GoFundMe Campaign" because her own lawyer has gone silent.
The Lawyer Who Stopped Fighting
Cllr. F. Juah Lawson of Renaissance Law Group was once trusted by Madam Sehkehporh to fight on her behalf. But since the judgment was handed down, her actions have sparked outrage and disbelief.
Despite being her legal representative, Cllr. Lawson has become slow in initiating enforcement of the court's judgment. Madam Sehkehporh said her lawyer has failed to provide basic updates, ignoring weeks of calls and messages.
However, Sehkehporh lamented that her lawyer only took action after she wrote a formal letter, expressing deep concern and confusion about her case status.
Even after receiving a judge's directive for JFK to make payment by end of July 2025, Cllr. Lawson reportedly went quiet again.
"Since the [Supreme court's] decision, I have made multiple attempts to reach you through calls and messages, all of which have either gone unanswered or met with responses that I have found incomprehensible," Sehkehporh wrote to her lawyer in a letter dated July 7, 2025. "Given my ongoing medical and financial challenges, I intend to launch a GoFundMe campaign to raise support for continued treatment."
A Lawyer's Ethical Collapse?
Liberia's legal code demands that lawyers act in their clients' best interests, but in Madam Sehkehporh's case, the conduct of Cllr. Lawson raises disturbing questions.
JFK and the Ministry of Justice, Complicit in Delay
Cllr. Lawson has claimed that JFK wrote to the Ministry of Justice requesting authorization to pay the judgment, but Sehkehporh said there's been no follow-up, no public pressure, no urgency from the lawyer.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Justice has failed to respond, compounding the delay.
Sehkehporh is now a shell of herself. Once a vibrant woman, she now lives in isolation and pain, her body ravaged not just by botched surgeries, but by years of legal battles, delays, and broken promises Her suffering or painful experience started in 2019, when doctors at JFK Memorial Hospital left a piece of surgical material inside her body after performing a surgery. The complication led to multiple surgeries, a fistula, and emotional trauma.
The Supreme Court found her story credible, noting that the evidence was overwhelming and justice was served on paper. However, in real life, justice is rotting, alongside a client who trusted her lawyer to deliver it as not just a client, but also a citizen who trusted the law.
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"She is very sick and in need of urgent medical treatment," her family says.
She explained her ordeal to FPA during an interview: "I'm battling health issues and one of the victims of medical malpractice in Liberia. As I speak, my vision is so bad that I can't see clearly. I can't eat for my belly to get filled neither can I drink to quench my thirst. At night, I have to put a towel under me so that whatever fluid that comes from my belly button doesn't spill on the bed... It is just so hard right now for me. I was strong and energetic for those who knew me.
My entire life was taken away just like that. I need to get serious medical attention out of the country ASAP because I am nothing but, skin and bones."
Meanwhile, those wishing to assist Madam Sehkehporh as she awaits the enforcement of her rightful compensation may contact her at +231 88 667 0620.
