Premature newborn loses fingers due to medical negligence- Gynaecologist, hospital slapped Rs 33.75 compensation
Medical Negligence
Chennai: The District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission, North Chennai, recently directed a gynaecologist and a city-based hospital to pay Rs 33.75 lakh compensation to a woman, a dentist by profession, after finding them guilty of medical negligence causing severe and permanent injuries to her newborn baby.
It was alleged that the doctor and the hospital conducted a cervical pessary procedure (which is a non-invasive insertion of a silicone ring in the vagina to support the cervix) without obtaining due consent. This, allegedly, resulted in the preterm delivery of the infant at 24 weeks, and the newborn baby boy also lost five fingers due to gangrene.
PTI has reported that the Commission observed that the hospital and the doctor "failed to justify the emergency nature of the procedure or explain why consent was bypassed."
Holding the city hospital and gynaecologist liable for negligence, the District Consumer Court has ordered the hospital and the doctor to pay Rs 23.65 lakh spent on treatment, Rs 10 lakh compensation for pain and suffering and Rs 10,000 as litigation costs.
As per the latest media report by DT Next, the complainant underwent treatment for polycystic ovarian disease (PCOD) at Srinivas Priya Hospital in Perambur under Dr Ayyapan for more than two years. Subsequently, she conceived through ovulation induction.
Back in March 2023, at 22 weeks and one day gestation, an anomaly scan was performed and it revealed a short cervix (22 mm) with a 9% risk of preterm delivery.
It was observed by the Commission that solely based on this scan, the treating doctor immediately inserted a cervical pessary without obtaining consent from the complainant. In fact, prerequisite tests such as Glucose Tolerance Test (GTT) and standard antenatal checks were also not conducted. The complainant was also note given any time to take a decision regarding the procedure.
After the procedure, the patient was discharged with assurances that the pessary would safeguard the foetus. However, soon afterwards, the patient experienced vaginal watery discharge with blood spotting and abdominal pain.
Allegedly, when she rushed back to the hospital, she was made to wait nearly two hours. After infection was ruled out, she was admitted for observation. However, allegedly, the critical bloodwork results were not shared with her.
Two days later, the patient suffered severe bleeding, stomach pain and fever. She was administered IV antibiotics and painkillers. Subsequently, she suffered from intense stomach and lower back pain with intermittent bleeding.
At that time, a duty doctor prescribed medicines contraindicated for pregnant women. Within an hour of taking the medicine, the patient experienced severe fresh bleeding and intolerable pain. Thereafter, the treating doctor removed the pessary and diagnosed it as labour pain. Immediately ,the patient was shifted to the operation theatre.
In this regard, the Commission noted that neither the patient nor her husband were informed about the proposed preterm delivery or its potential complications.
Labour was induced via IV medication and it resulted in a vaginal breech delivery. A male baby, having a low heart rate, low birth weight, respiratory distress syndrome, and an extremely poor prognosis, was born. Consequently, the baby was urgently transferred to a private hospital Guindy based on the advice from a doctor there.
The complainant alleged that due to infection and delayed/negligent treatment, the baby developed digital gangrene in all five fingers of his right hand. Later, the children's hospital informed her that auto-amputation was inevitable.
Taking note of the submissions, the District Consumer Court, presided over by D Gopinath with members, V Ramamurthy and Kavitha Kannan found the doctor and the first treating hospital guilty of gross medical negligence and severe deficiency in service. The Commission held that premature inserting of cervical pessary without testing or emergency need led to complications including preterm delivery at 24 weeks. However, the Commission dismissed the complaint against the children's hospital.
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