Utd Hospital Fire: Pay Tk 25 lakh each to families of 4 victims

The Supreme Court yesterday directed the United Hospital to pay Tk 25 lakh each in initial payment to the families of the four patients killed in a fire at its Covid-19 isolation unit on May 27 last year.

The hospital must pay the families within 30 days of receiving the apex court order, or be accused of contempt of court, the hospital's lawyer Mustafizur Rahman Khan told The Daily Star.

A full bench of the Appellate Division of the SC, led by Chief Justice Syed Mahmud Hossain, issued the order after hearing the leave to appeal petition filed by the hospital authorities challenging a High Court order that had asked United to pay Tk 30 lakh to each of the victim's families.

The HC gave the order on July 15 last year following three separate writ petitions moved on behalf of the four victims' families.

That HC order directed United to pay the money in initial payment in 15 days of formally receiving the order.

The hospital authorities filed a petition with the SC five days later, seeking a stay on the HC directive.

The apex court stayed the HC order and asked United to move a leave to appeal petition against the HC order. The hospital authorities moved the leave to appeal petition before the Appellate Division yesterday.

Aneek R Haque, one of the lawyers who represented the victims, told The Daily Star that the family of Monir Hossain, one of the five people killed in the fire, will not get Tk 25 lakh as his family had already been paid Tk 20 lakh in initial payment by the hospital as per a settlement.

He said a rule over the final compensation for the victims is pending with the HC.

The four other people killed were Vernon Anthony Paul, 75, Riyajul Alam, 45, Khodeja Begum, 70, and Md Mahbub, 50.