She was 32 weeks pregnant and in labour.
Pain came first. Then the warning.
A junior doctor noted her abnormal fetal heart rate and alerted the obstetrician. But no immediate decision was made. Four hours passed. By the time she was taken for an emergency C-section, it was too late.
There was uterine rupture. Placenta accreta. Massive haemorrhage.
The baby lived.
The mother didn’t — at least not fully. She survived in a permanent vegetative state.
The family said the doctor waited too long, didn’t arrange blood, didn’t act when warned. But experts disagreed. The rupture couldn’t have been predicted, and the clinical response, though delayed, was still within acceptable bounds.
The court accepted this.
When judgment is called into question, the process matters. So does the timing.
Source : Order pronounced by National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission on 12th June, 2023.