Suffering from polycystic ovarian syndrome, the patient visited a gynaecologist in the month of January. The doctor prescribed a medicine to be taken for three months.
The patient consulted the doctor twice thereafter; at the end of March and sometime in the month of October. Unfortunately, she experienced blurred vision and suffered a stroke / clotting in the brain after three months.
She sued the doctor and alleged that the medicine was prescribed without explaining risks and benefits. The patient also claimed that brain nerves became dead as a result of consuming the medicine prescribed by doctor.
The gynaecologist rejected the claims and stated that there was no causal relationship between medicine and stroke suffered by the patient. The hospital’s treatment record also clearly mentioned that occipital headache was suspected possibly due to intracranial dissection and differential diagnosis was vasculitis.
The top Consumer Court perused doctor’s prescriptions and other medical records. The evidence was in doctor’s favour, as the Commission stated the following:
“I have carefully perused the medical record for chronology of treatment details and the prescriptions. It is evident that after stopping medicine, patient visited the doctor for follow–up only in the month of October with complaints of irregular periods. After clinical examination, she was further advised to continue the medicine for six months - 21 days intake and 7 days off cycle. She was advised laser treatment and to continue regular walk and low carbohydrates in her diet to control weight. The doctor in her prescription clearly mentioned about the investigations and about weight gain and DVT. The patient was called for regular follow-up after a week, but she never came thereafter, thus she herself was negligent in treatment”.
“There was no link between suffering of stroke and consuming prescribed medicine. Hospital’s discharge summary clearly stated that patient’s thrombo check profile was normal. Thus, in the instant case, there is no evidence of thrombosis / blood clotting leading to alleged stroke. The investigations revealed that the alleged stroke was due to arterial dissection suffered by patient”.
“Moreover, the doctor submitted that the side effects of medicine and preventive measures were duly explained to the patient. The patient was cautioned about weight gain and Deep Vein Thrombosis. She was advised for exercises and diet control, which was clearly noted in the prescriptions”.
Diligently prepared prescription notes helped the doctor present a strong case in the Court – the case against her was dismissed.
Source : Order pronounced by National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission on 12th June, 2023.