Docs found guilty, to cough up Rs 5.5L
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New Delhi, Sept 12: Holding two Andhra Pradesh doctors guilty of causing death of a pregnant woman due to medical negligence, the country’s apex consumer commission has asked them to pay a compensation of Rs 5.5 lakh to the victim’s husband and her three minor children.
“The respondents — Dr Atluri Ravindranath and another — were undoubtedly guilty of medical negligence because during the course of a Caesarean operation, they caused injury to the urinary bladder leading to multiple complications and death. This was totally avoidable, had due care been taken as Caesarean sections are fairly common procedures...” said the National Consumer Dispute Redressal Commission.
“We are of the view that since three young children have been rendered motherless, two of them at infancy, in the interest of securing their future, there is a case for enhancing the compensation. We, therefore, direct that the compensation of Rs 1 lakh given to each of the three minor appellants be enhanced by Rs 50,000 each,” said the NCDRC bench, presided by Justice Ashok Bhan. The NCDRC’s order came on cross-appeals with victim’s husband Jangamgunta Balasubra-mnium and her minor children seeking enhancement of compensation and the doctors seeking annulment of the state commission’s order, which had held them guilty of medical negligence and had asked them to pay up.
The apex consumer commission while upholding the State Commission’s verdict relied upon the post-mortem report and said, “The fact that there was an injury to the bladder, which caused leakage of urine, has been confirmed by the post-mortem report.” In his complaint, Mr Balasubramnium had said his wife was admitted in Dr Ravindranath’s nursing home on August 1, 2000, and the next day she had given birth to twins by Caesarean section.
But from August 3, 2000, there was leakage of urine that resulted in various other complications and she died on August 7, 2000. The doctors in their appeal, had contended that the woman had suffered kidney damage due to pressure on her kidneys during pregnancy and they had operated upon the urinary bladder to control the leakage.
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