Karachi court orders hospital, doctors to pay Rs20m over woman’s death

KARACHI: A civil court has directed a private hospital and two doctors to pay Rs20 million in compensation to the legal heirs of a woman who died after developing complications from a caesarean section in Karachi.

The order was passed by Senior Civil Judge (Central) Durre-Shahwar Junejo in a suit filed under the Fatal Accident Act by the legal heirs of 30-year-old Kishwar Afsar, including her husband, Mohammad Afsar Khan. The case was instituted through their counsel, Barrister Nasir Maqsood, against Ghafoor Medical Centre and two doctors.

According to the plaintiff’s case, Kishwar Afsar was admitted to the hospital in May 2002 during the ninth month of her pregnancy for delivery. She later underwent a caesarean section and gave birth to a baby girl.

Barrister Nasir told the court that after the patient was shifted from the operating theatre to her room, her husband observed that the surgical site was leaking thick blood and that the bandage had been completely soaked. The husband informed hospital staff, but, according to the claim, the doctor on duty did not contact the main surgeon, who had already left the hospital after carrying out the operation.

The plaintiff further stated that the doctor available at the time asked him to arrange blood bags, saying the patient had already lost a large amount of blood because of severe internal bleeding. As her condition worsened, the main gynaecologist allegedly told the plaintiff that the patient had become critical and that the hospital did not have sufficient facilities to deal with such an emergency, including intensive care and ventilator support.

The woman was then moved to another private hospital, where doctors operated on her, but she died during treatment. The plaintiff subsequently approached the Pakistan Medical and Dental Council, served a legal notice on the defendants and then filed the lawsuit.

Defence and court findings

The hospital and doctors denied allegations of malpractice, negligence, misfeasance and malfeasance. They argued that the plaintiff had not identified any act of negligence during the patient’s nine-hour stay at the hospital.

The defendants also maintained that they had “discharged their responsibility with great care and caution, employing all knowledge, experience and skill at their command”.

After reviewing the evidence presented by both sides, the court ordered the hospital and the doctors to pay Rs20 million to the deceased woman’s legal heirs within 60 days. The court also awarded an eight per cent markup on the decretal amount from the date of the decree until realisation.

“The deceased was admitted at Dr. Ghafoor Medical Centre for delivery and underwent a caesarean section on 31.05.2002. Immediately after surgery, she developed excessive bleeding and abnormal pain; blood had not been adequately pre-arranged,” the court observed.

The court further noted that the doctor had “left the hospital post-surgery and attended only later in the night, the hospital admittedly lacked ICU and ventilator facilities”, and that the patient was eventually referred to another hospital in critical condition.