TN Teen Footballer Death Case: Disciplinary Committee recommends no action required for AP Orthopedics, CMO

Chennai: The doctors accused of the botched surgery of teen footballer R Priya in 2022 will not face any action from the state medical council disciplinary committee after the committee members took into consideration that the Directorate of Medical Education had already taken departmental actions such as suspension and transfer against them.  

The decision came after the Directorate of Medical Education informed the committee in April that the two doctors- AP Orthopedics and CMO accused of the botched surgery were suspended for medical negligence. Therefore, the committee told the State Medical Council no further action was required.

Meanwhile, the Madras High Court also refused to grant anticipatory bail to the doctors and medical staff in November 2022 as the issue was still in the initial phase and the probe was still incomplete. The expert committee of the Health Department held five persons including four doctors and one ward staff responsible for the incident leading to her death.

Further, the committee has submitted the recommendation to the ad-hoc committee of the state medical council for their ultimate decision.

Also read- No Bail For AP Orthopedics, CMO Over Death Of Teenage Footballer Due To Delay In Removal Of Tourniquet

The decision has deeply upset the family members of the late Priya, who have never stopped fighting for their daughter's justice. The victim's brother told TOI "We were not even aware of this inquiry. How did they conclude this without speaking to us? We filed a case against the doctors and staff, and an FIR was registered. But the case hasn’t moved forward. Since the govt gave our family a compensation of 10 lakh and a contract job as a data entry operator in the health department for me, the police feel the case can be closed. We told them our loss was bigger."

Medical Dialogues team had earlier reported about the 17-year-old footballer, Priya R, who lost her life due to multi-organ failure following complications from an alleged botched arthroscopic surgery to fix a ligament at a government hospital in Tamil Nadu's Chennai.

It was alleged that after her initial surgery at the Periyar Nagar Hospital on November 7, she began having pain in her legs. She was then prescribed a tight compression bandage and medicines for the pain. Over a suspected blood clot in her legs, she was transferred to Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital, where the doctors stated that the tissues in her right leg were dead and recommended an amputation.

The girl's right leg was amputated on November 9, but her condition worsened following which a follow-up surgery was performed on her on Monday. However, she did not respond well to the treatment and later she passed away due to complications in her liver, heart and kidney.

Also read- Delay In Removal Of Tourniquet Leads To Death Of 17-Year-Old Footballer: AP Orthopedics, CMO Suspended For Negligence