Medical professionals must adhere to established standards of care during delivery to avoid negligence leading to harm.

ORDER

Appeared at the time of arguments:

For the Appellant : Mr. V. Sridhar Reddy, Advocate For the Respondent : Mr. S. Ravi Kumar, Advocate (VC) Binoy Kumar, Presiding Member

1. The present First Appeal has been filed under Section 19 of the Consumer Protection Act, 1986 (for short “the Act”) assailing the Order dated 01.03.2019 passed by the Andhra Pradesh State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission, Vijayawada (hereinafter referred to as the “State Commission”), by Dr. P. Yashodhara (hereinafter referred to as the Appellant/Opposite Party) against Mrs. K. Sreelatha (hereinafter referred to as the Respondent/Complainant) seeking to set aside the impugned order of the State Commission.

2. Brief facts of the case as narrated in the Complaint are that the Respondent/Complainant was admitted to the Appellant’s hospital at Nellore on 16.04.2011 during an advanced stage of pregnancy. On 17.04.2011, she gave birth to a male child through forceps delivery performed by the Appellant. The Respondent alleged that due to the Appellant’s negligence during the delivery, the baby suffered serious crush injuries to the scalp and necrosis, which later became necrotic. The right ear pinna was also crushed and detached. As a result of these injuries, the baby sustained brain damage and has become mentally disabled. The Respondent further stated that the child was taken to CHILDS Trust Hospital in Chennai for further treatment, where they incurred expenses of approximately Rs.4,00,000/-. The doctors at the said hospital confirmed that the injuries were caused due to improper handling and negligence during the forceps delivery by the Appellant. The hospital issued medical reports and certificates supporting this finding. The Respondent also submitted that the Appellant had conducted an ultrasound scan in her hospital, which showed the baby’s weight as 3.6 kg. The Respondent had requested a caesarean section surgery considering the size of the baby, but the Appellant insisted on a forceps delivery. The Appellant took the Respondent’s signatures on certain documents without properly informing her of the risks involved in a forceps delivery. The medical records from CHILDS Trust Hospital clearly establish that the baby suffered severe injuries during the forceps delivery conducted by the Appellant, which amounts to gross medical negligence. Aggrieved by the act of Appellant, the Respondent filed the Complaint before the State Commission with the following prayer: -

“Therefore, it is prayed that this Hon’ble Commission may be pleased to direct the Opposite Party to pay a sum of Rs. 40.00 Lakhs as a compensation to the Complainant towards expenditure for the treatment to the baby, mental agony and loss suffered by the Complainant’s family due to negligence of Opposite Party in performing forceps delivery of the baby of the Complainant born on 17.04.2011 at Opposite Party Hospital, Nellore and grant such other reliefs as this Hon’ble Court feels fit and proper in the circumstances of the case, including costs.”

3. The Appellant/Opposite Party in its written version before the State Commission denied all allegations of negligence and specifically denied that the baby suffered any brain injury or became mentally retarded due to the delivery conducted by her. She stated that she had no knowledge about the Respondent admitting the child in CHILDS Trust Hospital, Chennai, and denied the claim that Rs. 4,00,000/- was spent on medical treatment. She also denied that any medical reports or certificates from the said hospital attributed negligence by her. According to her, the reports were vague and suggested the child might have had a rare me