Hyderabad: The Hyderabad District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission-II has ordered the managing director of Fernandez Hospital in Hyderabad and three doctors to pay a woman Rs. 60 lakh for medical negligence.
In a petition filed jointly, Peddagalla Shireesha and her husband Madgula Sudharshan, both employees and residents of Urkonda in Nagarkurnool, accused the hospital’s three doctors—Dr. Geeta Kolar, senior consultant obstetrician, Dr. Subhashini, consultant obstetrician, and Dr. Veena, duty doctor—of medical negligence and demanded damages.
Shireesha claimed she had approached the three doctors for consultation. From the sixth month of her pregnancy until birth, the complainant claimed that she was always under the care of the opposing parties. After examining the patient, Dr. Geeta Kolar ruled that the complainant was healthy enough to have a normal delivery even if the first delivery had been via caesarean section.
On February 14, 2019, when labour pains began, Shireesha was admitted to the hospital based on medical advice. After undergoing the standard delivery procedure, the complainant underwent surgery in the early hours of February 15, 2019. The complainants paid Rs. 50,000 at the time of the first admission to the labour ward and another Rs. 50,000 for the admission of a newborn child.
“Due to their inexperience, the doctors paid little attention to the complainant’s health. They ignored the fact that the first delivery was a caesarean and prolonged the procedure for normal delivery. The doctors administered oxytocin injections to increase augmentation. The prolonged period during the procedure for normal delivery by the duty doctors caused severe damage to the health of the complainant’s second child. Only after rupturing the sutures of first delivery, the duty doctors decide to perform an urgent C-section. Due to the doctors’ delay, the baby suffered a severe brain injury due to Hypoxia, a permanent brain injury, resulting in cerebral palsy (Quadriplegia), remote symptomatic epilepsy, and pseudobulbar dysfunction,” the petitioner stated.
She added that the newborn was unable to eat and had not yet reached milestones like sitting up, crawling, or standing. “Currently, the baby is totally bedridden,” the complainant claimed.
The hospital management and three doctors contended that there was no deficiency of service on their part. They further submitted that neither the doctors nor the hospital was negligent in performing their duties, and therefore, they were not liable to pay any damages.
After reviewing the case, the commission ordered the hospital administration and three doctors to pay the complainant Rs 60 lakh in compensation as well as Rs 20,000 in legal costs.
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