The Telangana Human Rights Commission (THRC) has come down heavily on the state government for "vicarious liability" in a case of medical negligence that led to the death of a woman following a botched tubectomy surgery in 2017. The panel has recommended an additional compensation of Rs 8 lakh for the family and a government job for her speech-impaired husband.
A Tragic Sequence of Events
The case revolves around M Lalitha, a mother of two from Revally village in Wanaparthy district. In June 2017, she underwent a free tubectomy surgery at a government medical camp as part of a family planning scheme. Shockingly, her brother-in-law, who filed the complaint, stated that she was admitted for the procedure without the family's consent.
A day after the surgery, Lalitha developed severe complications, including acute abdominal pain and swelling. She was shifted to the District Area Hospital in Wanaparthy and later to Osmania General Hospital in Hyderabad. Despite the transfers, her condition deteriorated, and she died on July 9, 2017.
Commission Rejects Doctor's Defence, Cites Negligence
The medical report stated the cause of death as "Cardio Pulmonary Arrest Septic Peritonitis following Perforation of Ileum." Dr. A Srinivasulu, the District Medical and Health Officer who performed the surgery, argued that the death was an unpredictable "physiological response" beyond medical control and mentioned his acquittal in a related criminal case.
However, the Commission, chaired by Dr Justice Shameem Akther, firmly rejected this defence. Referring to established medical jurisprudence texts, the Commission noted that septic peritonitis from an ileal perforation is not a spontaneous bodily reaction but arises from infection or injury during or after surgery.
"Medical jurisprudence does not accept preventable infections or surgical injuries as mere physiological responses of the patient’s body," Justice Akther remarked.
The Commission found that the ileal perforation during surgery and the delay in detecting it led to the fatal condition. It observed that such complications are directly linked to factors like negligent surgical procedure and failure to detect bowel injury, which are within the surgeon's control. A police report citing an Assistant Forensic Professor from Osmania Hospital also confirmed the delay in detection.
State Held Liable, Inadequate Compensation Noted
Holding the state government vicariously liable as the employer of the surgeon and medical staff, the Commission stated that they failed to adhere to basic surgical and post-operative care protocols. "Failure to maintain such basic standards... defeats the very purpose of community health centres and exposes patients to avoidable and life-threatening risks," the order stated.
The Commission noted that an earlier compensation of Rs 2 lakh paid to the family was wholly inadequate, especially given that the two minor children lost their primary caregiver and the husband, due to his speech impairment, faces difficulty in earning a livelihood.
Exercising its powers under the Protection of Human Rights Act, the THRC's final recommendations are:
- Payment of an additional Rs 8 lakh to the husband and two minor children.
- Provision of employment for the husband, at least on an outsourcing basis, to support the children.
The Commission has directed the Telangana Chief Secretary to comply with these recommendations and submit an action-taken report within one month.
