New Delhi, Jan 16 A Delhi consumer commission has held a city nursing home vicariously liable for medical negligence by its doctor that led to a woman permanently losing her ability to conceive and directed it to pay Rs 20 lakh as compensation, inclusive of litigation expenses.
The District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission, presided over by Divya Jyoti Jaipuriar with member Dr Rashmi Bansal, was dealing with a complaint filed by Samreen, who alleged that she suffered a ruptured ectopic pregnancy and removal of her fallopian tube due to negligent treatment by gynaecologist Dr Kuljit Kaur Gill at a nursing home in Daryaganj.
The complainant stated that after a home urine pregnancy test showed positive in July 2020, she visited Family Health Care Centre in Daryaganj on July 24, 2020, where the doctor allegedly confirmed pregnancy only on the basis of the home test and prescribed medicines and injections without any independent examination or investigation.
Samreen alleged that despite repeated complaints of abdominal pain and continuous bleeding during several visits on August 11, August 15, August 26 and September 2, 2020, no ultrasound or proper tests were advised, no diagnosis was recorded on treatment sheets, and she was repeatedly given only medicines such as those for acidity.
Her condition deteriorated, and on September 7, 2020, another doctor advised urgent tests. Accordingly, she got herself examined, and a laboratory report showed a dead embryo. Subsequently, she was rushed to Kasturba Hospital, where she underwent emergency surgery, resulting in the removal of her fallopian tube and a medical opinion that she would not be able to conceive again.
The commission noted that Samreen, who had a history of a previous preterm delivery of dead twins and was therefore a high-risk obstetric case, remained bedridden for months, suffered long-term pain and emotional trauma, and claimed Rs 44.29 lakh.
The panel referred to the Delhi Medical Council's (DMC) disciplinary order of September 5, 2023, which recorded that Dr Gill had prescribed a list of medicines without proper investigation for abdominal pain in a pregnant patient, treated the case as normal pregnancy rather than an ectopic pregnancy and was warned and restrained from claiming herself to be a gynaecologist while registered only with an MBBS qualification.
The commission observed that the doctor did not file a written statement within the statutory period, failed to document the patient's complaints, diagnosis or investigations over five visits, delayed the ultrasound for around 40 days and did not exercise the heightened duty of care required in high-risk pregnancies, thereby breaching her duty of care and failing standards of reasonable medical practice.
It held that the doctor's omissions and casual approach were the proximate cause of the delayed diagnosis of ectopic pregnancy, the emergency surgery and the irreversible loss of the complainant's reproductive capacity, amounting to actionable medical negligence and misrepresentation of qualifications, which the DMC had already found to be in violation of professional conduct regulations.
At the same time, the panel ruled that the nursing home was vicariously liable for the negligent acts of its empanelled doctor.
The commission, however, dismissed the complaint against the Department of Health and Family Welfare, holding that no material was placed on record to show a deficiency in service or dereliction of statutory duty by the government authority in relation to the case.
"Given the severity, nature of injury that has caused irreparable harm and deprivation of her legitimate expectation of motherhood, an amount of Rs 20,00,000 is fair, proportionate, legally justified and commensurate with the nature, gravity and irreversible consequences of the injury suffered by the complainant," the commission said in an order dated December 18.
It directed the Family Health Care Centre to pay the compensation to Samreen within six weeks while granting the nursing home liberty to recover the sum from Dr Gill in accordance with the law.
