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Hyderabad: The Rangareddy District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission has directed Vijaya Diagnostic Centre’s Dilsukhnagar branch in Hyderabad to pay Rs 2.2 lakh as compensation to a pregnant woman after it issued an incorrect medical report, observing that the lapse could have had serious consequences for both the expectant mother and the foetus.
In its order, the commission asked the diagnostic centre to refund Rs 1,700 collected from the complainant and pay Rs 2 lakh as compensation. An additional Rs 20,000 was awarded towards litigation costs.
The complainant, R Bhargavi, had visited her gynaecologist for a routine check-up on March 15, 2024, during which the doctor suspected a cyst on the foetus’s neck and advised a Nuchal Translucency (NT) scan. Bhargavi underwent the scan the following day at Vijaya Diagnostic Centre in Dilsukhnagar.
The diagnostic centre’s report stated that the findings were normal, recording the NT value as 1.8 mm and making no mention of any cyst or abnormal growth.
However, suspecting the accuracy of the report, Bhargavi opted for a second scan at a diagnostic centre in Kothapet two days later.
The subsequent scan detected an 11 mm cyst on the left side of the foetus’s neck, a serious abnormality that had gone undetected in the earlier test.
Doctors informed her that reliance on the initial report could have posed serious risks to both the mother and the foetus. Acting on medical advice, Bhargavi underwent a medical termination of pregnancy on March 22, 2024.
She later approached the consumer commission on July 3, 2024, alleging negligence, mental trauma and financial loss. While Vijaya Diagnostic Centre argued that the cyst was not visible during the NT scan, the commission, after examining medical records and other evidence, ruled in favour of the complainant.
The commission held that the failure to detect the cyst amounted to medical negligence and deficiency in service, and ordered the diagnostic centre to pay compensation and issue refunds accordingly.
This post was last modified on February 4, 2026 8:34 am