‘No proof’: Court acquits doctors of Thane physiotherapy centre accused of ‘negligence that led to 22-month-old boy’s death’

The director of the occupational therapy centre and a physiotherapist had been booked amid allegations that the child fell off a T-swing during a therapy session due to their negligence.

The incident took place on August 6, 2023. The child’s parents had taken the boy for occupational therapy and had handed him over to the physiotherapist for the session. After 10 minutes, the staff came rushing out and said that the child had become unconscious.

The boy was first rushed to a doctor in the same building who had earlier recommended the occupational therapy to the parents as they feared that he was showing signs of aggression. The child was then taken to a private hospital where he died. The parents of the child alleged that the death was caused due to negligence and that they were initially told that the baby had fallen from a swing and suffered a head injury.

During the trial, the lawyers for the two accused claimed that the child had a history of seizures. The court said that since the parents were not present in the room during the therapy session, they are “hearsay witnesses”.

Another crucial evidence was the CCTV footage from the room. It could be seen in the footage that a child had fallen off a T-swing and that the required precautionary measure of setting a safety mat below was not done.

However, the court found faults in the way in which the footage was retrieved and stored, without following the required procedure to prove it as evidence in the trial. The court said that the investigating officials had admitted that the Digital Video Recorder was not seized, nor was identification done that the baby in the CCTV footage was the 22-month-old.

The court further said that no proof was collected on whether the required procedure was followed in setting up the T-swing. It added that there was no proof against the director, who was not present at the session but was booked as the incident occurred at the centre.

“A general conduct accusing accused no.2 (the physiotherapist) of negligence is not enough in the case at hand. It is a widely accepted norm that doctors take utmost care of the patient he or she is treating. Thus, anything against this norm has to be proved by adducing cogent evidences by the prosecution,” the court said.

The two accused were cleared of charges under sections 304A (causing death by negligence) and 34 (common intention) of the Indian Penal Code.