Man held over medical bill given Sh0.8m

The Milimani High Court in Nairobi has awarded Sh800,000 to a carpenter who was detained unlawfully for two months over outstanding disputed medical bill of over Sh3 million.

Justice Luca Mugambi found that The Labib Hospital had unlawfully detained Herman Kinoru for two months from the date he was due for discharge.

“Having regard to the foregoing, I grant the following reliefs. A declaration that the petitioner was unlawfully detained at the respondent’s hospital in violation of Articles 28, 29 (a) and 39 of the Constitution. The Petitioner is awarded Sh800,000.00,” said Justice Mugambi. The judge also awarded Kinoru the cost of the petition.

The judge said that any form of detention not sanctioned by the law that seeks to procure performance of contractual debt is a violation of the right to liberty

“The act of the (Respondent) hospital of detaining the (Petitioner) Kinoru to compel him to pay the outstanding medical bill exposed him to scorn and derision from his social circles and relatives and heavily impacted on his esteem thereby puncturing his inherent dignity,” said Justice Mugambi.

Justice Mugambi noted that holding a person who has been treated and fully recovered in hospital for over two months to compel him to pay the hospital bill is punitive, unfair, unreasonable and thus unlawful.

He said that although the debt was legally incurred, the means adopted by the hospital to enforce the payment was callous and has no place in a civilised society.

Kinoru told the court that he was admitted at the said hospital on the August 24, 2021 and treated until September, 24 2021 when he was ready for discharge.

He paid Sh764, 200 against a disputed demand of Sh3,098,920 as at November, 15 2021 but he was not discharged and instead, he continued to be detained as the bill went on accumulating on a daily basis.

Kinoru said that being the sole breadwinner of his family, the illegal detention subjected him and his entire family to financial and psychological trauma and torture.

He told the court that he suffered loss of income due to illegal detention for more than two months as it made it difficult for him to resume his carpentry business that would have enabled him to raise the outstanding bill.

The hospital filed a preliminary objection to the suit but the high court struck it out.

The hospital did not however file their defense on several mentions and thus compelled the court to enter judgement in favour of Kinoru.