STAFF REPORTER
GUWAHATI: After a decade-long legal battle, a case concerning the permanent disability of a girl after the administration of a vaccine has ended on a positive note.
The petitioner's daughter was born fit and healthy in the Sipajhar Public Health Centre on November 28, 2010, and had been administered all required vaccinations at the time of her birth. When the child was one and a half years old, she was administered vaccines, namely DPT-Booster, Measles 2nd OPU-Booster, and Vita A 2nd dose, at Anganwadi Centre in village Patgiri Chuba under Khash Sonapur in the Darrang district. At the time of vaccination, the child was in good health. However, after taking the vaccination, her health condition started to deteriorate, and after a while, she fainted.
Thereafter, she started suffering from a high fever and was not able to stand on her legs. The child was immediately admitted to Sipajhar PHC, later admitted to Gauhati Medical College Hospital (GMCH), and underwent treatment for almost three months. However, till the date of filing the writ petition in the year 2014, his daughter was not able to walk or sit and only lay on the bed.
As the father could not afford the necessary care, the Gauhati High Court directed authorities to pay an amount of Rs. 3,700 per month to engage a caretaker. The Court also directs the Commissioner and Secretary to the Government of Assam, Health and Family Welfare Department, to disburse an amount of Rs. 1,00,000 to the bank account of the petitioner within a period of 30 days from the date of the judgement.
The Court further directed the Commissioner and Secretary to the Government of Assam, Health and Family Welfare Department, as well as the Mission Director, National Health Mission, to take effective steps so that the child is evaluated at least twice a year by a paediatrician till she attains the age of 18 and by a physician after she attains the age of 18. Further to that, the said authority shall also ensure that a neurologist of the GMCH provides the necessary consultations from time to time as per the needs of the victim and that medical treatment, as well as rehabilitation training that is presently being offered to the victim, is continued so that she is in a position to live a reasonably dignified life.
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