Woman Dies After Childbirth As Doctors Go Out For Drinks, Court Awards Hefty Compensation

Birth of a child is moment of joy and immense happiness for the couple. But how important these moments are medically has been underlined by a tragic case. A court in Malaysia has ordered two doctors to pay equivalent of Rs 11.42 crore to family of a woman who died after childbirth because doctors went for drinks. The woman bled to death after childbirth while the doctors were gone.

The tragic incident took place in January, 2019. The court held Dr Ravi, Dr Shanmugam and three nurses guilty of medical negligence. The court expressed surprise at how the doctors left the patient even after having years of experience in dealing with pregnancy and post-partum cases.

It was second child for 36-year-old Punitha after whose birth she died due to excessive bleeding.

The court said that the death was avoidable and the doctors needed to behave responsibly. The judge who ordered the doctors to pay damages underlined that blood loss after pregnancy was a known issue and Punitha should have got the necessary medical assistance.

Court documents showed that Punitha gave birth to her child at 10:30 am on January 9 under the supervision of Dr Ravi. After birth, Punitha cried in agony and her mother discovered that she was bleeding profusely.

Astonishingly, Dr Ravi assured the family that bleeding was expected since he had removed the placenta manually. He told them Punitha would be fine and went for a drink.

The court was told that Dr Shanmugam, owner of the clinic, left for drinks as well.

The bleeding didn't stop and in spite of medical assistance at another hospital, Punitha died two hours after the delivery.