At least 11 medical professionals from a hospital in India are under investigation for acquiring 10 x-ray exams on a patient after his death, according to a recent report from Medical Dialogues.
The patient, a 45-year-old rickshaw puller, died in the emergency ward of Lala Lajpat Rai Memorial Medical College while receiving treatment after a road traffic accident. Despite his death, clinicians performed 10 x-rays on the corpse, citing a need to clarify the patient's cause of death, the article noted. The surgical department stated that a chest fracture was the cause of death, whereas the orthopedics department asserted that this was not the case.
Dr. R.C. Gupta, head hospital administrator, has ordered a detailed investigation of the incident, already placing two junior physicians under suspension.
"The medical college is not my department; however, it is a serious procedural lapse," Chief Medical Officer Dr. Raj Kumar told the Times of India. "If the doctors had to ascertain the cause of death, they should have sent the body for postmortem."
