The patient, with a bad obstetric history, was due to deliver her second child. She was admitted at the hospital. Tests reported abnormal epithelial cells and motile bacteria. The doctor performed LSCS, a healthy baby girl was delivered.
The mother’s condition deteriorated soon thereafter. She developed high blood pressure and her urine output stopped completely. Eventually, the critical patient was shifted to a higher centre for better management.
Unhappy with the development of post-delivery complications, the irate mother sued the doctor alleging that the diagnosis of hepatic and renal dysfunction – made at the second hospital – ought to be have made earlier.
The doctor defended her actions by stating that the patient had a bad obstetric history. The decision to perform LSCS was inevitable as the baby’s head was high up and its size was big.
The State Consumer Commission rejected doctor’s defence, as it observed the following:
“The fact that patient had a sensitive obstetric history, and pregnancy could be unpredictable, doctors and mother should be prepared, but the fact that she developed post LSCS complications remains unexplained”.
“The presence of bacteria would normally heighten patient’s chances of developing post-caesarean infections. It is a major abdominal operation and as such offers an opportunity for bacteria to enter the body. The doctor should have been prompt to confirm the diagnosis and identify the cause of infection”.
The doctor was held negligent for failing to confirm the reasons behind post-LSCS infection.
Source : Order pronounced by Telangana State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission on 8th August, 2023.