Bengaluru, 18 Dec

A 36-year-old homemaker has lost her life allegedly due to medical negligence by doctors at Trilife Hospital, HRBR Layout, Kalyan Nagar in Banaswadi. After treating the victim, Kalpana Manohar, for dengue, the hospital haphazardly gave IV fluid to treat her iron deficiency without conducting any tests.

Kalpana was admitted to the hospital on 5 December 2023 as she was diagnosed with low white blood cells, said her husband Ramesh Babu, a software engineer. Dr Kanchan Govindraj, general physician, and her team treated her for dengue, Babu told Salar News. The next day, 6 December, Manohar Kalpana to feel better and the doctor said she would be discharged the following day.

But Kalpana was suffering from fatigue, to which the doctors claimed that she was suffering from iron deficiency. The doctor proposed an infusion through IV to increase the iron content. The couple half-heartedly agreed to the infusion.

“As the IV fluid started entering her body, her body started aching. She was experiencing a lot of pain but the medical staff said this was entirely normal. After some time, I left as I had to log in for work. After pain became intolerant, my wife got rid of the IV dose but the medical staff had convinced her to finish the dosage. By the time I returned, her face and stomach were heavily swollen,” showing signs of hypersensitivity, Babu said.

According to the National Institute of Health, hypersensitivity reactions can occur in anyone given an IV iron dose due to inadequate facilities or administered by undertrained staff.

As Kalpana repeatedly complained of discomfort in the stomach, the nurse and the helper took the patient to the toilet. The patient came back from the toilet and fell short of breath and died.  

The doctors, all of a sudden, declared her condition critical and gave her CPR. They shifted her to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) only after she had passed away. “They only gave her CPR and the doctor in charge informed me they took her to ICU and declared that she had cardiac arrest and 15 minutes later they informed that her brain was dead. We do not know what they did to her in the ICU, she looked the same way except the stomach swelling was suddenly gone,” the husband said.

The hospital handed over the victim’s body even before the family cleared the hospital’s bills which created suspicions. “When my friend’s father died, the hospital did not hand over the body till the insurance was cleared despite the insurance company informing them that their server was down and the amount would be credited. So when the body of Kalpana was handed over without the payment and they shooed us out of the hospital without giving the discharge summary, our doubts grew,” said Nagesh, a friend of Babu.

The hospital released a statement saying, Kalpana had rapid and abrupt clinical deterioration and suffered a cardiac arrest. “Due to prolonged CPR and low platelet count, we could not provide thrombolysis,” the hospital said. 

A complaint has been registered at Banaswadi Police Station. However, the hospital is growing infamous in the locality due to the medical negligence incidents repeatedly taking place.

According to Legal Service India, Section 304A of the Indian Penal Code states that medical professionals who cause the death of a patient due to negligence can be punished with up to two years in prison, a fine, or both. In 2022, seven serious medical negligence cases have been registered across the State. According to Karnataka High Court, a doctor can only be found guilty of medical negligence if they fall short of the standard of reasonable medical care. A doctor cannot be found negligent simply because they made an error of judgment. The general rule is that the plaintiff must prove that the harm or damage caused to them by the defendant was due to the defendant's negligence.