Critical hours, no qualified watch: ICU lapse upheld as negligence
Issue -
February - 2026, Posted On: 01 February 2026
A four-month-old infant was admitted to the ICU of a private hospital with pneumonia and sepsis. The attending doctor assured the parents that the condition was under control, and with that assurance, they left the child at the hospital overnight.
But when they were called back at 4 AM, the infant was already on ventilator support and unresponsive. The crucial discovery during trial was that during those critical hours, the ICU was not manned by a qualified paediatric specialist. The hospital defended its treatment, stating that protocols were followed and the child was already in a critical state when admitted. However, the treatment records told another story — temperature and vitals were not monitored with required frequency, particularly between 11 PM and 2 AM when the child’s condition deteriorated.
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