The High Court has issued a rule ordering the payment of Tk5 crore in compensation to the family of a newborn whose arm was fractured due to medical negligence during jaundice treatment at Delta Medical College Hospital in Dhaka and has also directed an investigation into the incident.
The court directed the submission of the report within three months.
The order was issued on Monday by a High Court bench led by Justice Fahmida Quader, following a writ petition.
The court also inquired why punitive actions should not be taken against those responsible for medical negligence.
Earlier, the newborn’s father, Nurer Safah, filed the writ petition with the High Court concerning the arm fracture incident.
According to media reports, allegations have been raised against doctors and staff at Delta Medical College Hospital for fracturing the newborn’s arm while treating jaundice.
It is reported that on April 3, a seven-day-old newborn suffering from physical ailments was admitted under the care of Dr AKM Khairul Anam Chowdhury at the hospital by the newborn’s father, Md Nurer Safah, a resident of Mirpur.
The father alleges that during the treatment, the medical personnel caused the injury.
The hospital authority subsequently formed a five-member investigation committee.
Nurer Safah said that the newborn was admitted on April 3 for phototherapy due to elevated bilirubin levels.
Upon admission, the hospital informed them that uninterrupted therapy would be provided throughout the night, allowing breastfeeding only two to three times, with the remainder of feeding done by breast pump and given by the staff.
During treatment, no one was permitted to be near or see the newborn from midnight to 7am.
He added that according to hospital policy, his wife breastfed the newborn at midnight as usual.
When called at 7am to feed again, despite her efforts, the baby was asleep and could not be awakened.
The nurse on duty said they would call when the baby woke up.
The mother then pumped breast milk and left it with the staff to feed the newborn.
The next morning, at 10am, the duty doctor informed them that the bilirubin levels were under control and the newborn would be discharged.
At 11am, the baby was handed to the mother with instructions to minimize movement of the right arm due to pain from a cannula insertion.
The newborn was asleep and wrapped in a blanket at the time.
However, after arriving home and attempting to feed, the mother discovered that the baby’s right arm above the elbow was fractured.
Immediately, the newborn was readmitted to the neonatal ward of Delta Medical College Hospital where he had previously been treated.
The duty doctor said that he had personally examined the baby before discharge and claimed the fracture must have occurred due to pulling or handling after leaving the hospital.
They advised an X-ray at National Institute of Traumatology and Orthopaedic Rehabilitation (Nitor) in Shyamoli.
A written complaint was subsequently filed.