Nagpur-Based Ultrasound Lab Ordered To Pay Rs 1.25 Cr Over Medical Negligence

The consumer commission said that the ultrasound centre failed to diagnose the defects of a fetus at an early stage.

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The National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (NCDRC) has ordered an ultrasound scanning and imaging centre based in Maharashtra's Nagpur to pay compensation of Rs 1.25 crore to the parents of a disabled child for providing wrong ultrasound reports on four occasions during a woman's pregnancy, which led to her child having congenital anomalies.

The commission also noted that the ultrasound centre failed to diagnose the child's defects at an early stage and did not offer to terminate the pregnancy, as per The Times of India.

Thus, the child was born with agenesis, which means the absence of fingers, the right leg under the knee, and the left foot from below the ankle.

The ultrasound centre called Imaging Point was being run by a radiologist named Dr Dilip Ghike.

A two-member bench of the NCDRC pulled up the ultrasound centre for not detecting the foetal anomalies at 17-18 weeks of pregnancy, and ordered the centre to pay compensation for the child's welfare, treatment expenditure, and limb prosthetics.

Ultrasounds Conducted in a Negligent Manner: Parents

"The amount shall be kept in the form of fixed deposit (FD) in any nationalised bank (preferably SBI) in the name of the child till he attains majority. The parents can draw periodic interest on the FD for the regular health check-up, treatment and welfare of their child," the commission's order stated, as per The Times of India.

The ultrasound centre was also asked to pay Rs 1 lakh to cover the family's legal expenses.

After conducting the ultrasounds, the centre had reportedly told the child's mother at the time of her pregnancy that there were "no congenital anomalies in the fetal head, abdomen, and spine."

However, when the gynecologist performed an elective Caesarean section, the mother and the staff were shocked to see a "grossly-malformed male newborn."

The parents then accused the radiologist of performing the ultrasounds in a negligent manner.

The child's parents said that their baby was diagnosed by multiple doctors with problems like facial palsy with lagophthalmos and micrognathia, poor jaw opening, and limb hypo-genesis syndrome.

The family had asked for a Rs 10 crore compensation to meet future expenses of the child. On the other hand, the radiologist claimed that there was no negligence while conducting the ultrasounds.

(With inputs from The Times of India.)