When Sajeena along with her husband Jaleel reluctantly agreed for a Dilation and Curettage (D&C) procedure as suggested by their doctors at the Cooperative Medical College, little did they realise that it would turn out to be one of the worst nightmares in their life.
Hardly a week after she underwent the D&C procedure, Sajeena was shocked to find that her pregnancy was not terminated. Though the couple approached the hospital authorities for clarification, they conveniently washed off their hands stating it was not their fault.
The victim, Sajeena filed a complaint with the Ernakulam Consumer Redressal Forum against the hospital with Dr. Ajithakumari, Head of Department, Obstetrics and Gynecology, Dr Mathangi, Resident Doctor, and Chief Executive and the principal of cooperative medical college as respondents. The hospital had given the complainant an OP card stating ‘Uterine cavity curetted, bleeding stopped and product ( fetus) expelled after D&C.’
Luckily, Sajeena and Jaleel’s fight for justice bore fruit when the Ernakulam Consumer Redressal Forum pronounced their verdict against the hospital that it should compensate the couple for the financial loss they incurred.
The forum said that though the complainant has been lucky enough to witness a happy end to this episode the opposite parties cannot be absolved of their liability in making the complainant undergo the sorrow, agony, anxiety and physical pain apart from financial loss that could have been avoided if they were a bit more careful. “Hence opposite parties are liable to compensate the complainant adequately for the financial loss as well as mental agony,” the verdict said. Jaleel said that he gave consent to conduct the D&C procedure as the doctors advised that there was no other alternative to stop profuse bleeding. “Though I enquired about other options, they said that the fetus had come out and D&C should be conducted to arrest profuse bleeding,” he said. The Forum maintained that the opposite parties’ argument of ‘vanishing twins’ could not be accepted as they have already given a scanning report before the D&C procedure, that it was a single life fetus.
The order said that though the couple incurred a large amount to meet the hospital expenses it is not easy to quantify the expenses precisely. The consumer court directed the respondents to pay Rs 15,000/- along with nine per cent interest from April 16, 2010. The court also directed the opposite parties to pay Rs 35,000 towards the compensation for mental agony and physical pain to the complainant and Rs 5,000 as the cost of litigation.