Woman given nitrous oxide instead of oxygen in 2012: Madras HC directs day-to-day trial

Madurai: The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court has expressed concern over the prolonged delay in a 13-year-old medical negligence case and directed a trial court in Kanniyakumari to expedite the proceedings. The case pertains to the death of a woman due to the wrongful administration of nitrous oxide instead of oxygen at a government hospital. The court instructed that the trial must be completed within six months, with hearings taking place on a day-to-day basis.

While dismissing the petitions filed by six of the accused seeking to quash the charges, Justice N Anand Venkatesh emphasized that any attempt to delay the trial should result in the accused being remanded.

The case dates back to March 18, 2011, when the patient was admitted to the Nagercoil Government Medical College Hospital for a tubectomy procedure. However, due to a grave error, she was given nitrous oxide instead of oxygen. The mistake proved catastrophic, leaving her in a coma. After battling for more than a year, she succumbed to the complications on May 4, 2012.

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Her husband took legal recourse, filing a petition in 2013, demanding accountability. In a 2016 ruling, the high court found the hospital negligent, holding the state responsible. The government was ordered to compensate the family with Rs 28.37 lakh.

Despite the high court’s earlier verdict on liability, the criminal trial dragged on. Among the 12 accused are gas suppliers, manufacturers, and the anaesthetists who administered the wrong gas. Six of them sought to have the charges dismissed, arguing their lack of direct responsibility.

Justice Venkatesh, however, refused to entertain their pleas, highlighting that both the hospital and the gas suppliers had engaged in blame-shifting instead of accepting accountability. The court found that the gas suppliers lacked a valid licence, making their role in the tragedy even more glaring, TNIE reports. 

Following this, the court dismissed the petitions filed by the accused who sought quashing of the proceedings pending in on the file of the Additional Sessions Judge in Nagercoil and directed that the trial be conducted on a day-to-day basis.

Pointing out that the deceased had suffered for nearly 411 days and her death had, no doubt, been caused due to gross negligence, the judge opined that only the trial court can ascertain on whose negligence the incident happened.

With the trial now set on a fast track, the case could finally reach a long-awaited legal conclusion, determining where the negligence lies. 

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