The High Court on Monday directed the United Hospital authorities to pay four victim families Tk 30 lakh each in 15 days as initial compensation over the damages and death of their family members in a fire incident happened in the hospital.
The HC Bench of Justice JBM Hassan and Justice Md Khairul Alam passed the order after holding hearing on three separate writ petitions filed in this regard.
The court also issued a rule asking the United Hospital authorities to explain in four weeks as to why they should not be directed to pay four victims’ families Tk 15 crore
each as compensation over the damages and death of their family members in the fire incident.
In the ruling’ the HC also wanted to know from the respondents to explain as to why the license of the United Hospital should not be cancelled for their negligence.
A devastating fire, which started from an air-conditioning unit in one of the four rooms there, killed five patients, who could not get up and escape, on May 27 night last year.
The five patients who were killed in the fire incident were— Riazul Alam, 45, Khodeza Begum, 70, Bherun Anthony Paul, 74, Md Monir Hossain, 75 and Md Mahabub, 50, said a United Hospital statement.
They were undergoing treatment with COVID-19 like symptoms at the isolation ward outside the main hospital building, said the statement. Later, the fire service was informed immediately who brought the blaze under control within 15-20 minutes.
Two Supreme Court lawyers, Barrister Niaz Muhammad Mahbub and Barrister Shahida Sultana Shila, on May 30 in 2020 filed the first writ petition seeking HC directives for cancellation of the license of United Hospital and compensation for one victim family. Later more two writ petitions were filed on the same ground.
Earlier on July 15 in 2020, a virtual HC bench ordered the United Hospital to pay four victims’ families Tk 30lakh each in 15 days as initial compensation.
But on 21 July, the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court stayed the HC order and on August 20, the apex court asked the parties to submit the petitions in a regular HC Bench. As per the order the petitioners submitted the petitions in this court.
