'Medical misadventure' killed Savita: Irish jury

London: Indian dentist Savita Halappanavar, who lost her life after being denied an abortion at a hospital in Ireland, died of “medical misadventure”, a jury at her inquest today ruled unanimously. The ruling at Galway Courthouse found there were systemic failures or deficiencies in the care given to 31-year-old Savita, originally from Karnataka. [caption id=“attachment_714270” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Savita was killed due to medical neiglilence, the jury finally ruled. IBNLive. [/caption] “You showed tremendous loyalty and love to your wife. All of Ireland followed the case,” coroner Ciaran MacLoughlin told Savita’s husband Praveen Halappanavar as he released the verdict at the end of the seven-day inquest today. The jury also accepted all nine recommendations put forward by coroner Ciaran MacLoughlin, including the failure to chart observations of vital signs every four hours, a failure to pass on information about an elevated white cell count, an “inordinate delay” in reporting back on blood samples and issues relating to note-taking. Dr McLoughlin had also said that the Medical Council should clarify exactly when a doctor can intervene to save the life of a mother, which will remove doubt or fear from the doctor and also reassure the public. During the hearing this week, leading obstetrician Peter Boylan had said that Savita would probably still be alive if the law in Ireland allowed an abortion as she miscarried before there was a real risk to her life, by which time it was too late to save her. The case has brought the confusing laws into focus in the country, where the government has since committed to legislate to allow abortion if there is a real and substantial risk to a woman’s life by July. The coroner’s recommendation also reiterated calls on the Irish Medical Council to lay out new guidelines on when doctors can intervene to save the life of a mother. PTI