Staff Reporter :
The Appellate Division of the Supreme Court on Thursday directed United Hospital authorities to pay four victim families Tk 25 lakh each as initial compensation for the damage and death of their family members in a fire incident happened in the hospital last year.
The hospital authorities have been asked to pay the amount in 30 days from the date of receiving the apex court order.
A six-member bench of the Appellate Division of the SC headed by Chief Justice Syed Mahmud Hossain delivered the order after holding a hearing on three leave to appeal petitions filed by United Hospital authorities.
The petitions were filed challenging a High Court order that had asked the UH to pay Tk 30 lakh to each of the four victim families as an initial payment.
Barrister Mustafizur Rahman Khan appeared in the court on behalf of the hospital, while Barrister Aneeq R Haque, Barrister Muntasir Uddin Ahmed and Barrister Niaz Muhammad Mahbub represented the writ petitioners.
The High Court on January 11 ordered the United Hospital authorities to pay four victim families Tk 30 lakh each in 15 days as initial compensation over the damage and death of their family members in a fire incident that happened in the hospital.
The High Court 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 victim families Tk 15 crore each as compensation over the damage and death of their family members in the fire incident.
Later the hospital authorities filed three leave to appeal petitions with the Appellate Division against the High Court order.
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, Monir Hossain, 75 and Md Mahabub, 50, said a United Hospital statement.
Of the victim families, only Monir Hossain’s family agreed to compromise with Tk 20 lakh, said Mustafizur Rahman Khan.
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.
Barrister Niaz Muhammad Mahbub and Barrister Shahida Sultana Shila on May 30 in 2020 filed the first writ petition seeking cancellation of the license of United Hospital and compensation for one victim family. Later more two writ petitions were filed with the same ground.
