Doctor fails to detect foetal anomaly in scan, Karnataka consumer forum orders Rs 20 lakh compensation

According to the order, Dr Shailaja A Inamdar, a gynaecologist at Ishwar Nursing Home referred the pregnant woman to Dr Rajani P Jadhav, consultant radiologist at Rajani Sonography X-Ray Centre in Vijayapura, to detect foetal abnormalities if any. The woman then underwent a foetal anomaly scan and several other medical tests and Dr Rajani opined that the foetus had no sign of myelomeningocele.

In June 2020, the woman gave birth to a boy, but doctors found a 10×12 cm-size myelomeningocele on the child’s spine. Thereafter, the infant was taken to Sanjeevani Hospital for surgery which incurred huge expenses. The woman, in her complaint, said she had taken a second opinion from a paediatric surgeon who said that the newborn will have to suffer lifelong issues, including recurrent urinary tract infections which could lead to an unhealthy life.

Dr Rajani, who had conducted the ultrasound scanning, said there were no indications for Medical Termination of Pregnancy (MTP) since no abnormality was detected in the tests. Meanwhile, the doctor had also not taken down mandatory details of the patient, such as age, sex, address, contact number and date.

“It is difficult to believe that Dr Rajani P Jadhav could not detect a swelling over the lower back during the scanning which had been performed on Radhika during the second trimester period. We have no hesitation to conclusively hold Dr Rajani P Jadhav liable for the negligence, who failed to diagnose the structural anomalies of the foetus.” the order said.

“Early and accurate detection could have helped the parents take a decision on whether to terminate the pregnancy within 20 weeks as per the MTP Act, 1983. The unfortunate birth of an amelic baby could have been averted. It is a well-settled principle of justice that in a case where negligence is evident, the principle of res ipsa loquitur operates and the complainant does not have to prove anything as the thing (res) proves itself,” it added.

“In such a case, it is for the opposite party to prove that she has taken care and done her duty to repel the charge of negligence. No concrete or rebuttal evidence is put forth by Dr Rajani to disprove the allegations of the complainant,” the order went on to state.

In the order issued on June 27, the court ruled out negligence on the part of Dr Shailaja and imposed a penalty of Rs 15 lakh on Dr Rajani, Rs 10,000 towards litigation fees and instructed her to keep a fixed deposit of Rs 5 lakh in the name of the child till he attains the age of 18.

What is myelomeningocele?

Myelomeningocele is a congenital condition or birth defect in which a child’s backbone (spine) and spinal canal does not close before birth. It is a type of neural tube defect (NTD). Myelomeningocele develops in a foetus during the first four weeks of pregnancy.

It is characterised by incomplete neural tube closure and a fluid-filled sac that protrudes from the baby’s back. But it can be detected during pregnancy through blood tests and foetal (prenatal) ultrasound.