Medical Negligence Case: 4 Specialists booked under IPC sections 337 and 338

IPC 337  deals with causing hurt by act endangering life or personal safety of others while IPC 338 deals with causing grievous hurt by act endangering life or personal safety of others.

Nigdi: Four specialist doctors, including two radiologists, have been booked under a case of negligence, following a complaint filed by an aggrieved father, who alleged that his baby was born with critical deformities, even though the doctors cited the fetus ‘fit’ during pre-natal examinations.

The town police took the action after the expert committee of BJ Medical College and Sassoon General Hospital confirmed medical negligence by the accused doctors.

A case under sections 337 and 338 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) has been registered against Gynaecologist couple Dr Pradeep Pandit Girigosavi and Dr Deepali Pradeep Girigosavi of Ashwamegh Nursing Home in Chikali, and Dr Harshad Adik and Dr Ashish Adsule, both radiologists attached with Aashirwad Diagnostic Centre in Chinchwad, confirms a recent report by Pune Mirror.

IPC 337  deals with causing hurt by act endangering life or personal safety of others while IPC 338 deals with causing grievous hurt by act endangering life or personal safety of others. The maximum imprisonment under the latter is 2 years. Medical Negligence cases generally fall under the purview of IPC 304a.

According to the complainant, Swapnil Bhausaheb Ghodke, the baby’s father, his wife’s prenatal check-ups were done at the Ashwamegh Nursing Home. The doctors there had suggested them to go to Aashirwad Diagnostic Centre for sonography tests.

Later, in November 2016, the baby was born with serious deformities in his right leg, left hand and had no passage for urine. Devastatingly shocked, the family then took their two-day-old baby to Sassoon Hospital, where a high-risk surgery was performed to create the passage.

In his complaint with the Police Commissioner, the father mentioned that none of the four doctors notified that the baby had a deformity. “They instead said that the baby was fine and their reports, too, claimed that our child was fit,” he added.

It has been further alleged that to register a complaint in this regard, the family had visited a couple of police stations, but were not entertained. With no other option, they ultimately went to the Then-Commissioner of Police, who forwarded his complaint to the concerned police station. Subsequently, for the medical opinion, the complaint was sent to the expert committee of Sassoon Hospital.

After the expert committee report, the case was booked.

PD Aardvar, Assistant Police Inspector attached to Nigdi police station, confirmed to the daily,  “It is a serious offence and a case has been filed after the reports sent by the medical committee. No arrest has been made so far, but the case is registered under sections 337 and 338 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) against the four doctors. Investigations are on and the nursing home is closed. Doctors at the diagnostic centre were not there when we went to conduct a probe.”