KARACHI: A civil court has ordered a private hospital and its doctors to pay Rs20 million to legal heirs of a woman, who had died from post-caesarean internal bleeding.
The legal heirs, including the husband of 30-year-old Kishwar Afsar, had filed a lawsuit through their counsel Barrister Nasir Maqsood before Senior Civil Judge (Central) Judge Durre-Shahwar Junejo against the private hospital — Ghafoor Medical Centre — and its two doctors under the Fatal Accident Act.
According to Barrister Nasir, the wife of the plaintiff, Mohammad Afsar Khan, was admitted to the hospital in May 2002, in the ninth month of her pregnancy for the delivery case and later she underwent a caesarean section and gave birth to a baby girl.
He added that when the woman was brought from the operating theatre to the room, the plaintiff noticed that the surgical site was oozing thick blood and the entire bandage was soaked.
The husband informed the hospital staff, but the doctor on duty failed to contact the main surgeon, who had left the hospital after performing the procedure, the plaintiff claimed.
However, the available doctor asked the plaintiff to arrange blood bags, stating that the patient had already lost a significant amount of blood due to severe internal bleeding. He further stated that as the patient’s condition deteriorated, the main gynaecologist allegedly informed the plaintiff that her condition had become critical and that the hospital lacked adequate arrangements to handle such an emergency, including intensive care and ventilator support.
The patient was later taken to another private hospital, where doctors performed surgery, but she died during the treatment.
The plaintiff later approached the Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (PMDC), served a legal notice on the defendants, and subsequently filed a lawsuit.
On the other hand, the defendants denied the allegations of malpractice, negligence, misfeasance and malfeasance.
They submitted that the plaintiff had failed to point out any instance of negligence on their part during the patient’s nine-hour stay at the hospital.
The defendants further stated that they had “discharged their responsibility with great care and caution, employing all knowledge, experience and skill at their command”. After examining the evidence produced by both sides, the court directed the hospital and the doctors to pay Rs20 million in compensation to the legal heirs of the deceased woman within 60 days with an eight per cent markup on the decretal amount from the date of the decree till realisation.
“The deceased was admitted at Dr. Ghafoor Medical Centre for delivery and underwent a caesarean section on 31.05.2002. Immediately after surgery, she developed excessive bleeding and abnormal pain; blood had not been adequately pre-arranged,” the court observed.
It added that the doctor had “left the hospital post-surgery and attended only later in the night, the hospital admittedly lacked ICU and ventilator facilities”, and she was ultimately referred in critical condition to another hospital.
Published in Dawn, April 10th, 2026
