July 16, 2003	Wednesday	Jumadi-ul-Awwal 15, 1424

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RAWALPINDI, July 15: The Lahore High Court Rawalpindi Bench on Tuesday directed a local civil court to decide within six months a Rs50 million medical negligence damages suit filed against a lady doctor of Cantonment General Hospital (CGH) and Cantonment Board, Rawalpindi.

Justice M Javaid Buttar of the LHC Rawalpindi bench issued these directions on a writ petition filed with the court under Article 199 of the Constitution for expeditious trial of the case lingering in the court for the last one and a half year.

The suit was filed by Lal Zamir, the husband of Riaz Bibi, in July 2001 who allegedly died of negligence of the lady surgeon at CGH.

Batish Mahmood Tipu and Nadir Altaf, the counsel for the petitioner, told the court that the witness of the plaintiff had still not been recorded for recovery of damages and compensation.

The damages suit was filed on the grounds that Riaz Bibi died due to sheer incompetence, medical malpractice and extreme carelessness of the respondents. Riaz Bibi had a caesarean section at the hospital on June 2, 2001. During the operation, the lady surgeon allegedly forgot to remove a sponge from the abdomen of the victim that caused a severe infection. Later her condition deteriorated but the doctor allegedly handled the situation carelessly.

In the petition, the petitioner stated that the act of respondents was unethical and his wife suffered bodily injury as a result of criminal and culpable negligence of the medical practitioner.