Family awarded £1m after doctor left bleeding woman to ‘go for a drink’
Malaysian judge rules woman died due to negligence soon after giving birth five years ago
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Your support makes all the difference.Two doctors in Malaysia have been ordered to pay RM6m (£1m) to the family of a woman who bled to death after one of them left the hospital to grab a drink.
Punitha Mohan, 36, died on 9 January 2019 from postpartum haemorrhage at the Shan Clinic and Birth Centre in Klang, Selangor, shortly after delivering her second child.
On Thursday, the High Court in Klang ruled that the two doctors, Muniandi Shanmugam and Akambaram Ravi, as well as three nurses on duty were guilty of medical negligence which led to the woman’s death.
Justice Norliza Othman said the two obstetrics specialists had failed to ensure their patient was out of danger and without any complications before leaving her in the care of the nurses despite years of experience delivering babies.
She said the tragedy could have been avoided if the doctors had performed their duty with responsibility.
The judge said postpartum haemorrhage, excessive blood loss after delivery, can happen to any woman but her life can be saved if treatment is given on time.
Mohan gave birth at around 10.30am local time under the care of Dr Ravi and the nurses showed the baby to Mohan’s family while she remained in the delivery room, according to court documents.
The situation took a tragic turn when Mohan began screaming, prompting her mother to enter the delivery room. Her mother told the court she saw her daughter bleeding profusely.
According to the judgement released on Thursday, Dr Ravi told the family he had to put his hand inside Mohan to extract the placenta, which could have led to excessive swelling and heavy bleeding.
The doctor left the clinic, assuring the family there was nothing to worry and told the court he only “went for a drink” and planned to return almost immediately.
The family told the court Dr Shanmugam, who owns the clinic, was seen leaving the delivery room and the two left Mohan under the care of the three nurses.
Almost two hours after the birth, the nurses scrambled to find help and called a nearby hospital where Mohan was taken. She died at around 5.25pm after undergoing surgery.
Mohan’s mother said she saw her daughter having difficulty breathing and turning cold as the nurses tried to stop the bleeding with cotton pads.
The court asked the two doctors to pay the family nearly RM6 million in damages, including RM1m (£180,000) each for Mohan’s two children.
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