OSAKA--The Osaka District Court has rejected an 88 million yen damages suit filed by the family of a pregnant woman who was refused admittance to 19 hospitals and died after giving a birth to a boy in 2006.

The court said Monday it found no negligence on the part of the doctor who was in charge of the labor at a hospital in Nara Prefecture.

The woman had fallen into a coma before delivery.

However, presiding Judge Shinichi Oshima made a rare comment, saying, "In order that Mika Takasaki's death not be in vain, I really hope the emergency medical care systems, including those of obstetrics departments, will be improved to save more lives."

The suit was filed by Takasaki's husband, Shinsuke, 27, and their son, Sota, 3, claiming that the transfer to another hospital was delayed due to the poor judgment of the doctor in charge of her labor at municipal Oyodo Hospital in Oyodo, Nara Prefecture. The plaintiffs had demanded that the Oyodo municipal government and the doctor pay a total of 88 million yen.

According to the ruling, Takasaki, 32, complained of a headache and lost consciousness during labor at the Oyodo Hospital shortly after midnight of Aug. 7, 2006.

At around 1:40 a.m. on Aug. 8, she began convulsing, leading the doctor to start looking for another hospital at around 1:50 a.m. About three hours later, she was picked up and transported an hour away to the National Cardiovascular Center in Suita, Osaka Prefecture.

She gave birth at the center, but died of a cerebral hemorrhage eight days later.

The plaintiffs claimed she should have been given a computed tomography scan of the head.

The judge said the doctor expected it would take no more than an hour to find a hospital that would accept an emergency patient, based on his experience.

"The next hospital might have been decided while the CT scan was being performed," he said. "It was completely rational for the doctor to transfer her rather than perform the scan."

Kimiaki Nishiura, director of Oyodo Hospital said: "We accept the ruling was reached after examining the issue from various points of view. We hope to strengthen the perinatal emergency medical services network, and will strive to improve the medical services of our hospital."