The State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission, Circuit Bench at Amravati, comprising Smt. K.S. Kapse (Presiding Member) and Smt. S.D. Wandhare (Member), has set aside the order of the District Consumer Forum, Amravati, which had held Dr. Manjushree Boob liable for medical negligence. The Commission found that the unfortunate death of the complainant’s mother could not be attributed to the doctor’s treatment and that no deficiency in service was proved.
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The case arose when Samiksha, the mother of the complainant, was admitted to the appellant’s hospital on April 23, 2011, for the delivery of her first child. She delivered a healthy baby boy through normal delivery, and all medical parameters were found normal. On April 26, 2011, she was discharged along with the newborn at the request of her mother. However, on May 2, 2011, Samiksha returned to the hospital with complaints of abdominal pain. After clinical examination and administering medication, the doctor referred her to Dr. Panjabrao Deshmukh Medical College for further investigation and treatment. Sadly, she passed away the same evening.
Following her death, the complainant’s family lodged a police complaint alleging medical negligence. The investigation, which included examination of hospital records, the post-mortem report, and the opinion of the Medical Board, revealed that the cause of death was bladder rupture leading to septicaemia. It was opined that this condition arose due to abdominal massage given at home after delivery, and not from negligence during hospital treatment. Despite this, the complainant filed a consumer complaint before the District Forum, Amravati, which partly allowed the complaint and awarded compensation.
The complainant contended that the doctor had been negligent by discharging the patient despite her abdominal and genital pain, by failing to properly examine her condition when she returned on May 2, and by not providing adequate treatment, which allegedly led to septicaemia and death.
In appeal, Dr. Manjushree Boob argued that the delivery and subsequent care were carried out properly, and that the patient was stable at the time of discharge. On her return with abdominal pain, necessary treatment was provided and referral to a multi-specialty hospital was promptly made. The appellant relied on the Medical Board’s findings and the post-mortem report to argue that the death was due to external abdominal massage at home, which caused bladder rupture, and was unrelated to the delivery or the treatment provided at the hospital.
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The State Commission carefully reviewed the evidence, including medical records, treatment charts, the post-mortem findings, and the Medical Board’s opinion. It found that the District Forum had overlooked critical medical evidence and wrongly concluded that negligence was established. The Commission emphasized that medical negligence cannot be inferred merely from the unfortunate outcome of a treatment, and that there must be cogent evidence of breach of duty by the doctor. In this case, the material on record clearly indicated that the death was not caused by the appellant’s treatment. Accordingly, the appeal was allowed, the order of the District Consumer Forum was set aside, and the complaint against the doctor was dismissed.