A professional hairdresser, Rahinatu Amissah, has filed a lawsuit against Syn Lab Ghana Limited, seeking GH¢10 million in general damages for emotional trauma and loss of earnings allegedly caused by a false HIV diagnosis issued by the laboratory.

Filed at the High Court in Accra, Amissah’s statement of claim outlines a distressing sequence of events that began in March 2023, when she undertook a medical examination at Syn Lab, a requirement for her to travel to Kuwait for employment.

According to her, the lab reported that she was HIV positive, a result that contradicted several subsequent tests she conducted at reputable medical facilities, including Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital, MDS-Lancet in Tamale, and the University of Ghana Medical Centre, all of which confirmed she was HIV negative.

Amissah claims that despite presenting these negative results to Syn Lab, the laboratory insisted on its initial diagnosis and issued two further reports affirming the false positive status.

She says the Defendant’s persistence led to the Kuwaiti authorities rejecting her residency application, culminating in her deportation and public stigma.

Upon her return to Ghana in June 2023, she was again told by Syn Lab that she was HIV positive. However, further independent testing at the West Gonja Municipal Hospital and St. Anne’s Hospital in Damongo, where she later sought antenatal care, again proved otherwise.

Amissah, who, according to the writ, is a professional hairdresser, says she and her newborn child have tested negative for HIV, without the need for preventative medication.

The Plaintiff also revealed that she sold her thriving salon business in Damongo, and her family sold livestock to fund her trip abroad.

Her deportation and the lingering stigma, she claims, have left her unable to find work, pushing her to the brink of suicide and forcing her to seek spiritual counselling.

Amissah is demanding GH¢38,200 in special damages, which includes medical costs, visa and travel expenses, and the loss of her salon business.

She is also seeking a court order compelling Syn Lab to issue an unqualified public apology and to notify her former employer and the Kuwaiti authorities of her verified HIV-negative status.

She alleges that Syn Lab failed to adhere to the World Health Organisation’s and Ghana Health Service’s testing protocols, which require a three-test confirmation strategy for diagnosing HIV, and thus accuses the company of professional negligence.

The case, which raises serious concerns about medical accountability and patient rights in Ghana’s healthcare system, is yet to be heard in court.

Meanwhile, SYNLAB Ghana has officially responded to the GHC10 million lawsuit. In a statement issued on Tuesday, 1st July, SYNLAB confirmed that the matter is currently before the court but firmly rejected the public narrative being circulated, describing it as “inaccurate, misleading, and prejudicial.”

Read also: SYNLAB Ghana denies allegations in HIV test lawsuit, assures public of diagnostic integrity