Baby chokes to death in Tamil Nadu's Sivakasi, kin blame private hospital for negligence

VIRUDHUNAGAR: A seven-month-old baby from Sivakasi died a day after he swallowed a piece of plastic cover, which was stuck in his throat. Sources said that the baby K Kalai Kathir was playing with the piece of plastic cut from a masala packet on Saturday around 6:30 am.

"His father noticed it and took him to a private hospital in Sivakasi. He was under treatment from 8 am to 10:30 pm, but was referred to a hospital in Madurai after the baby started suffocating. The plastic was removed after a scan but the baby died due to a decrease in pulse at 12:15 am on Sunday," sources added.

The baby's father claims that his son died due to negligence of the private hospital in Sivakasi. "We tried to take out the plastic cover as soon as I noticed it, but unfortunately it got stuck deep in the throat. The doctor said that it was because of a chest cold and was giving treatments accordingly. The baby’s health started deteriorating and became critical by night," he said.

He added that the doctors in Madurai hospital criticised the treatment that was given earlier. "The doctors in Madurai said windpipe was already affected and the pulse rate was very low," he added.