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Two doctors were ordered to pay $1.3 million (Rs 11.42 crore) to the deceased's family by the Malaysian High Court after the patient died due to medical negligence in 2019.
Kuala Lumpur,UPDATED: Jan 11, 2025 16:16 IST
Two doctors in Malaysia were ordered by the High Court to pay a compensation of Rs 11.42 crore to the family of a patient who died due to medical negligence in 2019. The court found that one of the doctors left the patient, Punitha Mohan, unattended to go for drinks, resulting in her bleeding to death after childbirth.
The 36-year-old patient died of postpartum haemorrhage after delivering her second child on January 9, 2019.
The High Court ruled that Punitha died due to medical negligence by the doctors Dr Ravi and Dr Shanmugam and three nurses on duty. The court further observed that even after years of experience in dealing with postpartum cases, the doctors left the patient with the nurses without ensuring her safety.
The court held that the death could have been avoided had the doctors acted responsibly.
The judge also pointed out that excessive blood loss after pregnancy was a known issue and any untoward incident could be averted if proper and timely treatment is given, which was missing in this case.
According to court documents, Punitha gave birth at around 10.30 am on January 9 under Dr Ravi's supervision. However, things took a turn for the worse when Punitha started crying in pain. Her mother rushed to the delivery room, only to find Punitha bleeding profusely.
Dr Ravi explained to the family that the excessive bleeding was a result of him taking the placenta out of Punitha with his hand. Assuring the patient would be fine, Dr Ravi told the family that he was going out for a drink and would return soon.
The family informed the court that Dr Shanmugam, owner of the clinic, also left the delivery room just after Dr Ravi left.
Nearly two hours after the delivery, the doctors were nowhere to be found as the nurses frantically searched for them. She was rushed to a nearby hospital and died after surgery.
Punitha's mother recalled that she saw her daughter turning cold, with difficulty breathing, as nurses tried hard to stop the heavy bleeding using cotton pads.
Published By:
Sayan Ganguly
Published On:
Jan 11, 2025
