Insurance co, docs told to pay Rs 3L to woman after C-section trauma

Time of India

06-05-2025

Ghaziabad: The district consumer disputes redressal commission (DCDRC) directed an insurance company to pay Rs 2.8 lakh to a patient who underwent a caesarean section at a local hospital in 2014 but faced severe complications due to doctors' negligence. The commission also ordered the doctors to pay Rs 20,000 as damages for physical and mental trauma, besides the cost of litigation.The petitioner, Varsha Singh, informed the commission that she was in labour when doctors Santosh Agrawal and Vinita Agrawal left her in that condition for three hours to take part in a marriage ceremony. The victim alleged that the delay in attending to her resulted in complications, forcing her to undergo a caesarean section for delivery at the Shyam Hospital, Ghaziabad. Her condition, however, deteriorated over time, and she remained under treatment for over a month, the woman told the commission.The woman informed the forum that persistent abdominal pain and bloating forced the family to consult another doctor at Madhu Nursing Home in Meerut on August 13, 2015.Upon checkup, it was found that a sponge was left inside her stomach at the time of delivery, causing septic infection of the intestine."When the abdominal pain and bloating did not subside, we consulted another doctor, who diagnosed a sponge left in my stomach that resulted in a septic infection of the intestine," Singh informed the commissionProducing records of the hospital bills and reated documents, Singh informed the commission that she underwent another surgery to remove a part of her intestine and clean the infection.Taking note of the evidence and medical records produced, chairman of the commission, Praveen Kumar Jain, decided in favour of the petitioner and held New India Assurance Company Limited accountable for payment of the entire sum on behalf of the erring doctors, as Shyam Hospital was fully insured by the insurance company.Not only the commission held the doctors responsible for showing medical negligence, the forum also rejected the insurance company's argument that they were not informed at the time of admission of the patient and that it violated section 8.1 of policy."The petitioners have made the insurance company a party in the case, which is sufficient to hold that the company was informed well within the time," stated the commission in its order.