Woman dies during delivery at private UP hospital: Four doctors, hospital manager booked under IPC 304A

Notably, medical negligence cases are to be booked under IPC Section 304A (Causing death by negligence) as per various high court and supreme court judgments on medical negligence.

The instant case concerned a woman who was admitted to the hospital on April 24, 2020. She gave birth to a baby girl through normal delivery around 2.04 pm. Around 5.30 pm, the woman's husband was allegedly informed by the hospital staff that his wife's condition was serious and she was being shifted to Max Hospital in Vaishali for further treatment.

However, on reaching Max Hospital the woman was declared dead.

As per a recent media report by the Times of India, the next day, the deceased's husband visited the private hospital where he was handed over a bill of Rs 2 lakh and told that he would get the newborn baby after he clears the payment.

Also Read: Negligence: AP Doctor Directed To Pay Rs 5 Lakh To Family Of 25 Year Old Who Died Of Septicemia

Aggrieved, Aditya Ginodia (the deceased's husband) moved the Noida commissioner office on July 2, 2020, to file a complaint against the doctor and the facility alleging negligence that caused the death of his wife. However, his complaint was not lodged by the police.

"Additional DCP (central Noida) Ankur Aggarwal would call me and the hospital representatives. But their representatives would never appear before the officer," he alleged.

Thereafter, on August 13, he moved to Surajpur court under CrPC Section 156(3).

In his complaint, the petitioner alleged that the removal of his wife's uterus resulted in blood loss and that the baby was pulled out through forceps even though a C-section could have been done. He further alleged that the family was not informed of the developments and his wife was transferred "using lies".

The petitioner also submitted that it was wrongfully mentioned in the discharge summary that the patient stayed in the hospital for two days.

Responding to the allegations, the hospital argued that the man was counseled about a "life-threatening condition" the patient had and stressed there was "no deficiency" on part of its team.

A hospital spokesperson further added that the patient had been diagnosed with amniotic fluid embolism (AFE), a rare and life-threatening condition with a very high mortality rate, which would have been confirmed by the autopsy.

"Her attendant was counseled about this condition and the hospital, in consultation with the most experienced doctors, delivered the best medical care to the patient but could not change the outcome. There was no deficiency in service on the hospital team's part," Times of India quotes the spokesperson.

After hearing both the parties, a medical inquiry was conducted by a panel of three doctors, formed by the CMO on the court's directions in October. The panel was of the view that there was a need for an inquiry by a higher medical institution and that the woman did not suffer from hypertension, anemia, or any other condition that suggested she could get a heart attack'

"It was unclear whether her death occurred due to blood loss or something else," the report stated.

Subsequently, on January 30, the Surajpur court directed Sector 39 police to lodge an FIR against the four doctors and the hospital manager under IPC Section 304-A (death due to negligence), SHO Azad Tomar told TOI.