Child Born Without Lower Limbs & Hips: Kerala State Commission Directs St. Luke Hospital And Doctors To Pay Rs. 50 Lakh Compensation For Failure To Detect Abnormality

In response, the State Commission found the hospital and the attending doctors (Opposite Parties) jointly and severally liable for their deficiency in services. They also found that the opposite parties were negligent in rendering treatment to the complainant which led to such misery. Consequently, they were awarded a total compensation of Rs. 50,00,000/-, with Rs. 30,00,000/- dedicated to the minor child and Rs. 20,00,000/- for the complainants themselves. The commission also ordered the opposite parties to pay Rs. 10,000/- as litigation costs.

Brief Facts

Jayesh and Reshmi, (Complainants) were residing abroad when Reshmi became pregnant. She returned to her husband's home in Thiruvananthapuram for prenatal care and initially consulted Dr. Sheela Shenoy at Cosmopolitan Hospital. An ultrasound scan at that hospital indicated a "single live intrauterine gestation of 10 weeks 6 days." Subsequently, Reshmi moved to her parental home in Pathanamthitta, where she continued to receive prenatal care, primarily from St. Luke Hospital (Opposite Party no. 1). Dr. Kenny (Opposite Party no. 2) conducted multiple ultrasound scans during this period. The scans, reassuringly, suggested that Reshmi was expecting a healthy baby. However, when she was admitted to the hospital and gave birth, Reshmi and Jayesh were shocked to discover that the baby had no lower limbs or hips. This birth condition placed an enormous emotional and financial burden on the couple.

The complainants asserted that Dr. Kenny, responsible for the ultrasound scans, failed to detect any indication of this severe issue during the examinations. They contended that if proper scans had been performed as required, any abnormalities in the foetus could have been identified. The couple argued that the negligence of the Hospital and the Doctors during Reshmi's pregnancy resulted in them becoming parents to a child with severe physical disabilities, leading to significant distress in their lives. As a result of these circumstances, Reshmi also filed a complaint in Pathanamthitta Police Station, leading to the registration of a criminal case. The complainants emphasized that they are facing substantial financial challenges in covering the expenses associated with providing artificial limbs for their child. They argued that the opposite parties failed to provide Reshmi with a reasonable standard of care during her pregnancy, leading to this significant suffering for them. Consequently, they sought compensation of Rs. 50 lakhs.

Arguments given by the Hospital and the Doctors

In response to the consumer complaint, the opposite parties (The hospital and the Doctors) contested it to be invalid and denied any negligence or deficiency of service on their part. They acknowledged that Reshmi had received treatment at their hospital. They pointed out that Reshmi visited their hospital during her 12th week of her pregnancy and had regular consultations with Dr. Preetha (Opposite Party no. 3). They asserted that the scan report issued by the previous Hospital (Cosmopolitan Hospital) did NOT indicate any congenital lower limb deficiency but the complainants did not raise any complaints against that Hospital.

St. Luke Hospital asserted that Dr Kenny (Opposite Party no. 2) had conducted the ultrasounds diligently and with care. They emphasized that ultrasound creates a two-dimensional image of a three-dimensional baby, and prenatal ultrasound results are not 100% accurate. They tried explaining that detecting all congenital anomalies depends on various factors like foetal position. They contended that during the scanning, no indication of any abnormality was noticed, and the non-detection of congenital lower limb deficiency cannot be attributed to any fault or failure on their part. They argued that ultrasound scanning is not a perfect depiction of the foetus, and scan results cannot be relied upon as 100% conclusive.

According to them, they followed all the standard protocols and consequently sought the dismissal of the complaint.

Observations of the Commission

The Kerala State Commission noted that the initial ultrasound report from Cosmopolitan Hospital did not detect any abnormalities in the foetus. However, the subsequent scans in St. Luke hospital, conducted by Dr. Kenny, also did not detect any abnormalities, even though they were conducted at later stages of pregnancy. The Commission found that Dr. Preetha (the gynaecologist, Opposite Party no. 3) was negligent in not prescribing an anomaly scan, which is intended to identify foetal abnormalities and Dr. Kenny's sonographic reports did not include the necessary measurements, which would have been vital in detecting the absence of lower limbs. Therefore, the Commission concluded that the failure to detect the absence of lower limbs in the foetus amounted to negligence and deficiency of service on the part of St. Luke Hospital and the attending Doctors.

The Commission also emphasized that the act of the opposite parties in making the complainants believe that the baby was healthy amounted to a deficiency of service. They acknowledged that the complainants and their child faced severe physical and emotional challenges due to the birth defect. And to decide the amount of compensation, the Commission considered the lifelong suffering and hardship faced by the parents and the child. Due to the uncertainties associated with the child's future needs, the Commission awarded a total compensation of Rs. 50,00,000/- along with Rs. 10,000/- as litigation costs. The compensation was directed to be paid along with 8% annual interest from the date of filing the complaint. The opposite parties were instructed to make payment within 30 days, failure of which would incur an annual interest rate of 9% on the entire amount.

Case Title: Jayesh & Ors. vs. St. Luke Hospital & Ors.

C.C. No. 33/2015

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