The parents of a two-and-a-half-year-old girl who died of acute myeloid leukemia (AML) accused a leading Delhi hospital and its doctors of medical negligence. Their daughter underwent multiple cycles of chemotherapy, several bone-marrow transplants, and a novel Haplo Alpha/Beta transplant, but the disease relapsed repeatedly and she eventually succumbed despite intensive treatment over more than a year.

 

A woman in advanced pregnancy was admitted to a nursing home for delivery. By late morning, her condition required surgical intervention. Consent for a caesarean was taken from the family at around 11 a.m. Yet the surgery was not performed until nearly five hours later, and by the time it took place, the baby had died.

The family alleged that the delay was entirely due to the absence of an anaesthetist at the facility. They argued that although consent had been secured, the doctor did not arrange for anaesthesia support in time and carried out the operation only in the evening. The post-mortem of the child pointed to death caused by prolonged labour.

A driver who underwent cataract surgery complained of losing most of his eyesight after the procedure and accused the surgeon of negligence. The district forum and state commission initially accepted his claim and ordered compensation. The surgeon challenged these findings, arguing that the surgery was performed correctly and that later complications were unrelated to the operation.

A 15-year-old boy was brought to a local clinic late at night after a road accident left him with a fractured thigh. The attending doctor, a general practitioner, assured the family that the bone would heal on its own. He applied traction with bricks, dressed the wound, and advised that plaster would follow after three weeks. No X-ray or diagnostic imaging was ordered, and the boy remained under his care for five days.

When the family finally took the boy to a higher-level hospital, specialists found advanced infection and gangrene. His leg was beyond salvage and had to be amputated below the knee. The parents alleged that the local doctor’s failure to investigate, refer, or provide proper treatment amounted to negligence and led directly to the amputation.

A woman admitted with severe throat infection and neck swelling died minutes after an emergency tracheostomy performed by an ENT surgeon. Her husband alleged that the doctor operated in haste without waiting for an MRI scan, causing her death, and sought ₹25 lakh in compensation.

Medical records showed that the patient was suffering from Ludwig’s angina—a deep neck infection known for sudden airway obstruction and high mortality if the airway is not secured. During the night her oxygen saturation dropped to 78%, and she developed increasing difficulty in breathing and swallowing.

A six-year-old girl was first taken to an eye specialist with a late-onset squint and partial loss of vision in her left eye. The doctor examined her, noted mild temporal pallor in the retina, and diagnosed a common childhood condition (amblyopia). Glasses were prescribed, and the parents were advised to cover the right eye and return for review. No imaging or neurological investigations were ordered.

Six months later, when the child was brought back for follow-up, her vision had deteriorated sharply. Only then did the doctor suspect a possible brain tumour. Even at that stage, she did not refer the child to a neurologist, choosing to continue treatment herself. The parents eventually sought a second opinion at another hospital, where imaging revealed an advanced brain tumour. Surgery was performed, but by then the child had lost sight in one eye, and the operation left her blind in the other.

After a road accident, a woman was admitted to a private hospital where surgery was performed on her fractured left leg. A rod was implanted in the tibia to stabilize the bone, and she was discharged after a few days. But severe pain persisted. A follow-up X-ray taken at another hospital revealed that the rod fixed during the first operation was larger than required. She also later tested positive for Hepatitis C and alleged that the infection resulted from unsterile surgical instruments.

The patient claimed that the surgery was negligently performed by the owner of the hospital, who was not a qualified orthopaedic surgeon. She underwent a second operation to remove and replace the oversized rod, incurring further expenses and continuing pain. She sought compensation for medical costs, mental harassment, and future treatment.