6-month-old baby falls ill after Kerala doctor prescribes overdose of paracetamol, case filed

The police registered a case against a doctor attached to the Aluva Government District Hospital based on a complaint filed by the infant's father on Saturday.

Updated on: Jul 12, 2026, 18:26:39 IST

Edited by Sana Fazili

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A government doctor in Kerala has reportedly been booked over allegations that she prescribed an excessive dose of medicine to a six-month-old infant after immunisation, after which the baby fell seriously ill.

The child's family alleged that he had to be admitted to another hospital for five days for treatment, costing the family a bill of ₹80,000 (Unsplash)

The incident happend in Aluva. The baby's father registered a complaint against the doctor attached to the Aluva Government District Hospital on Saturday, news agency PTI reported.

The child was reportedly administered a vaccine at the hospital in April this year and to prevent fever after the vaccination, the doctor allegedly prescribed liquid paracetamol in a quantity beyond the recommended dosage, the complainant alleged.

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Vaccinations in babies often cause fever and doctors prescribe paracetamol to relieve the symptoms. However, the paracetamol has to be given in accordance with the age and weight of the child, otherwise it might be harmful.

That is what apparently happened in the Kerala case as the police said the infant fell seriously ill after being administered the medicine and was admitted to a private hospital in Aluva. The child remained hospitalised for five days, costing the family around ₹80,000, the complainant alleged.

Police said a case has been registered under Section 125(a) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita for negligent act endangering human life or personal safety.

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Officials said the investigation would include an examination of the child's medical records with the assistance of medical experts. The doctor's statement will also be recorded as part of the probe, they added.

Similar incident

In another incident of medical negligence in Kerala, an 18-month-old baby died after being given anesthesia for during treatment for a cut lip, The Week reported.

The child, identified as Devansh Suhaurya, was injured while playing in the court yard of his house and his parents took him to Baby Memorial Hospital in Payyannur for treatment.

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However, the family alleged, that the child became critically ill after he was administered anaesthesia for suturing. The child’s condition soon deteriorated. The hospital later moved him to the Kannur unit for advanced treatment where he died late in the evening on Friday.

With inputs from PTI

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Sana Fazili
Sana started her career in 2018 with News18 and later moved to BoomLive. In the meantime, she thought it was a good idea to share what she learnt, hence took up part-time teaching of journalism course at Jamia Millia Islamia, which she says, she thoroughly enjoyed-not sure if the feeling was mutual. For a year, she also tried her hands at communication roles, only to realise she was more comfortable with news. So, joined HT in September 2025. Not much of a talker, always up for chai and sarcasm. And pun always intended. Her tag line is 'I will figure out, but I need to panic first'Read More

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