Nashik consumer panel tells 2 doctors to pay patient over Rs 12.7 lakh in medical negligence case, ETHealthworld
Nashik: The Nashik District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission has directed two doctors from a private hospital in Yeola to pay Rs 12.7 lakh to a woman after finding them guilty of medical negligence for allegedly leaving a surgical mop inside her abdomen during a caesarean delivery. The commission ordered the doctors to pay Rs 10 lakh as compensation for physical and mental agony and reimburse Rs 2.7 lakh spent on corrective treatment.
In its June 23 order, the bench comprising president Shilpa S Dolharkar and members Kavita A Chavan and Prerna Lonkar awarded the compensation to complainant Prajakta Dond, a 32-year-old resident of Nimgaon in Sinnar taluka.
Dond was admitted to the Yeola hospital on March 5, 2022, and underwent a caesarean section the following day. According to the complaint, she suffered severe abdominal pain, vomiting and backache after the surgery. Despite repeatedly informing the doctors, she was allegedly told that the discomfort was due to postpartum gas and was discharged on March 11.
As her condition worsened, Dond sought treatment at another hospital in Yeola on March 22. An ultrasonography and CT scan conducted there reportedly revealed a foreign object inside her abdomen.
An emergency surgery later found that an abdominal mop, or cotton sponge, had been left inside her abdominal cavity during the c-section. The negligence allegedly led to the accumulation of nearly two litres of pus and perforations in her intestines, requiring prolonged hospitalisation and intensive treatment.
The commission held that the negligence stood clearly established through the CT scan findings and the sworn affidavit of the treating surgeon. The bench also criticised the doctors for failing to conduct basic diagnostic investigations despite the patient’s repeated complaints of severe pain.
Observing that the evidence conclusively proved negligence, the commission directed the two doctors to pay Rs 5 lakh each as compensation and jointly reimburse all medical and surgical expenses incurred by the complainant’s family.
