A local court here has directed Puducherry government to pay Rs5 lakh as compensation to the family of a fisherman, who died in a government hospital here due to "negligence" on the part of the staff there.
According to prosecution, 60-year-old Balan of Nallavadu coastal village here was admitted to the Government General Hospital on July 21, 1998 for treatment of prostate related problem. He was operated upon on July 24 and was shifted to the ICU of the department of urology in the hospital.
Balan died on July 25 due to the alleged `negligence on the part of the employees and staff in the ward', following which his wife had sent a legal notice to the chief secretary, health secretary and resident medical officer of the hospital and sought a compensation of Rs15 lakh citing provisions of Section 80 of the Civil Procedure Code (CPC) on December 8, 1998.
Since there was no reply for the notice, she moved the court.
Second Additional District and Sessions Judge EMKS Siddharthar observed in his order yesterday that the government was liable for negligence on the part of the employees and it was the duty of the government to pay compensation. He ordered the government to pay Rs5 lakhs to Balan's family.
It was 'unfortunate' that the government had ignored the legal notice sent by Balan's wife and failed to sent a reply, the judge observed.
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