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'They burnt my four-day-old son'

Updated on: 11 January,2010 07:37 AM IST  | 
Preetika Singh |

Says Gurgaon resident Manoj Upadhyay, who alleges doctors at a Gorakhpur clinic were negligent and his baby was scorched by a heat blower. City hospital says infant will lose all toes on one foot

'They burnt my four-day-old son'

Says Gurgaon resident Manoj Upadhyay, who alleges doctors at a Gorakhpur clinic were negligent and his baby was scorched by a heat blower. City hospital says infant will lose all toes on one foot

Manoj Upadhyay, a resident of Mahipalpur in southwest Delhi, should have had the happiest start to the year 2010. However, a reported medical negligence has turned his life into a living nightmare.

Upadhyay alleges negligence by a private maternity clinic in Gorakhpur, Uttar Pradesh, has handicapped his infant son.


The incident

Upadhyay, who works as maintenance staff at Honda Motors, was blessed with a baby boy on December 28, 2009, in Gorakhpur. After a normal delivery, the baby was transferred to an adjacent room in the clinic. Later, his family allegedly noticed the baby's right foot was bandaged. Upadhyay said the doctors and the hospital staff were negligent and the heat blower used to warm the room, had scorched the baby's toes.



But allegedly the doctor on duty said the baby had suffered an abrasion during delivery.

However, after three days, when the baby's condition became serious, the doctor reportedly informed Upadhyay about the burn injury.

"My family resides in Gorakhpur and I went there for my wife's delivery. She delivered a baby boy on December 28. We were told he had suffered an abrasion and that's why his right leg was bandaged. They kept the baby in their custody for three days and brought him to us only for feeding. Later, we discovered the injury. Dr Laxminersu Sethi, a gynaecologist and the owner of the maternity centre, officially accepted the infant had been burnt by the blower and the incident had happened because of the carelessness of the hospital staff," said Upadhyay.
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Looking for a cure

After discovering the truth, the hapless parents started looking for a cure. They visited several hospitals and finally went to Nangalia Hospital in Gorakhpur where they were informed about the gravity of the situation. They were told the baby's right foot had to be operated upon. The boy was immediately rushed to Safdarjang Hospital, Delhi.

The Department of Burn & Plastic & Maxillofacial Surgery ward at Safdarjung Hospital


In Delhi, the parents were informed the toes on the baby's right foot had been so severely damaged they would have to be amputated.

The parents are inconsolable, crying their son has become 'handicapped.'

The amputation

"At the Nangalia Hospital, a plastic surgeon told us his toes have been damaged and they would have to be surgically removed. Now he is suffering from gangrene and will become handicapped," said Upadhyay.

At Safdarjung Hospital, Upadhyay's son, now about two weeks old, is awaiting surgery.u00a0

"I am very disappointed with the police too. I went to the district police station at Gorakhpur to lodge an FIR under Section 326 that would have meant the clinic had acted intentionally, and Section 506, that they are threatening me. But the cops filed it under Section 338, which means the clinic was merely careless," said Upadhyay.


The Other Side

Talking to MiD DAY from Gorakhpur, Dr S Lal, said, "I am admitting the baby was burnt by the blower. But it was not deliberate. It happened by chance."

Dr Laxminersu Sethi, the owner of Gautam Prasuti Grih, where the baby was born, said, "I was not present when the incident happened. The hospital staff is answerable. But we are extremely sorry."

Meanwhile, doctors at Safadarjung Hospital are refusing to comment on the case.

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