A 35-year-old woman from Shahibaug has approached the Gujarat High Court, accusing three doctors and a diagnostic laboratory of medical negligence after she gave birth to a child diagnosed with Down’s syndrome, cardiac anomalies and ambiguous genitalia.
A 35-year-old woman from Shahibaug has approached the Gujarat High Court, accusing three doctors and a diagnostic laboratory of medical negligence after she gave birth to a child diagnosed with Down’s syndrome, cardiac anomalies and ambiguous genitalia. The woman had previously lodged a police complaint against Zeel Maternity & Nursing Home, obstetricians and gynaecologists Dr Phagun Shah and Dr Chhaya Shah, paediatrician Dr Maulik Patel, and Unipath Special Laboratory Ltd, alleging professional negligence in the treatment and diagnosis during her pregnancy.
She also approached the Gujarat Medical Council (GMC), seeking disciplinary action and the debarment of the doctors. Following an inquiry and an expert committee’s assessment, the GMC issued warnings to the doctors and advised them to exercise greater caution in similar cases.
Unhappy with what she described as inadequate action, the woman subsequently approached the consumer commission and moved the high court, challenging the GMC’s order. She has sought the permanent cancellation of the doctors’ medical licences and compensation of Rs 25 lakh for the alleged suffering endured by her, her husband and their child.
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“The petitioner and her husband have undergone significant mental and emotional distress as a result of the negligence and lack of proper medical care provided by the respondents,” the petition states.
According to the petition, filed through advocate Vishal Dave, the woman conceived in 2021 and underwent regular medical check-ups throughout her pregnancy. The child was born in May 2022 with Down’s syndrome and two holes in the heart.
The newborn was initially identified as female by doctors. However, after a detailed assessment of the child’s medical condition, the doctors changed the assessment to male a month later, the petition alleges.
The woman has claimed that she was extremely cautious throughout her pregnancy and underwent several medical examinations. Despite this, she alleged that the doctors and other medical professionals failed to provide adequate counselling, diagnosis and advice, resulting in her giving birth to a child with multiple serious medical conditions.
She further alleged that the incorrect identification of the child’s gender compounded the family’s emotional trauma.
The petition states that she underwent multiple tests, including antibody to HIV screening, Trisomy 21 screening, ultrasonography (USG) and fetal colour Doppler studies on three occasions. She claimed all the tests were followed by consultations with doctors, yet none of the medical professionals alerted her to any potential anomaly.
The petitioner has alleged that the conduct amounted to professional misconduct under Section 22 of the Gujarat Medical Council Act.
The petition also refers to the GMC expert committee’s findings, which reportedly observed that timely advice regarding an invasive confirmatory genetic test could have helped avoid the situation.
The woman has contended that had she been informed about the foetus’s medical condition in time, she would have opted for abortion.
She has further alleged that the GMC misinterpreted the expert committee’s findings and imposed only a formal warning on the doctors in October 2023 instead of taking stricter disciplinary action.
Seeking relief from the high court, the petitioner has urged the court to quash the GMC order and direct the cancellation of the doctors’ licences.
The court has sought a response from the Centre regarding the provisions governing appeals against GMC orders, particularly in light of the National Medical Commission (Amendment) Bill, 2022, which introduced a provision for such an appeal.
