Court asks government to pay woman who delivered child after tubectomy

AHMEDABAD: A consumer court has ordered the state government to pay Rs 30,000 to a tribal woman when she delivered a baby even after undergoing tubectomy surgery for family planning.

The court asked the government to pay the amount because it is a provision made by the government in case of failure of such surgeries.

The incident had taken place in Amreli district. A tribal woman from Badwani district from Madhya Pradesh, who lives with her family in Amreli, went to a public health centre in Kukavav village. After ascertaining that she was not pregnant, a doctor conducted surgery on her on February 5, 2016. The woman was paid Rs 1,400 incentive as per the government’s scheme, and she was assured that she would not have a baby in future.

The woman went to the health centre next month and told the doctors and staff members the she was pregnant despite having undergone the surgery. Nobody heeded to her complaint. In September, the woman delivered a baby boy.

In April 2017, the woman sued two doctors and a health worker for the negligence and demanded compensation of Rs 4.5 lakh. After hearing the case, Amreli district’s Consumer Dispute Redressal Forum came to conclusion that the doctors had actually failed to verify whether the woman was pregnant at the time of surgery. Tubectomy was carried out on her while she was already pregnant.

The consumer court has asked the woman to approach a civil court for compensation for the negligence she alleged on part of doctors.