Stating that an inadequate three-line reply from an expert panel isn’t enough to give a clean chit to a doctor accused of medical negligence, the Pune District Consumer Dispute Redressal Forum rejected testimony of an expert panel and directed a Hadapsar doctor to pay Rs 7 lakh to a complainant for death of a patient post surgery.
The complaint was moved by Haveli Taluka resident Altaf Razak Mulani through his lawyer Ashok Vibhute against Dr Vijay Pawar from Pawar Surgical Hospital before the forum on July 25, 2008. Altaf’s plaint claimed that his 20-year-old son Dadabhai was taken to Dr Pawar’s hospital on August 1, 2007, after he complained of stomachache.
“After the two-hour long surgery, Dr Pawar examined my son and he was fine. However after the doctor left, an employee of the hospital gave an injection to Dadabhai. After a few hours, Dr Pawar examined Dadabhai and advised us to shift him to Yash Hospital. He said the patient had developed certain complications and Pawar Hospital did not have ICU facility. Accordingly he was shifted to another hospital in ambulance. But without examining Dadabhai, Yash Hospital staff asked us to get my son admitted to Ruby Hospital and when I reached there, doctors claimed that he was dead. To verify it, I rushed my son back to Dr Pawar’s hospital.”
Altaf’s lawyer Vibhute pointed out that the autopsy report of Sassoon General Hospital stated that the cause of death was haemorrhagic shock due to vascular damage with ileal perforation in an operated case, which means a case of medical negligence.
The doctor’s lawyer argued that first when doctor advised Dadabhai to undergo surgery, he had got discharged against medical advice. When the pain increased, surgery was performed with Altaf’s consent and the doctor gave post operative care too with all caution.
Pawar’s lawyer pointed out that the employee of the hospital had brought the injection only after the direction of Pawar and it was given in the hands of an expert nurse. During the time of the surgery, it was found that Dadabhai’s blood pressure, heartbeats and everything was normal. When he complained of pain, again he was checked and he was normal. “A pain killer injection was given, but when his condition deteriorated, the doctor advised shifting him to another hospital for lack of facilities.”
Forum president VP Utpat and member Geeta Ghatge observed, “As per the expert panel, the treatment given to Dadabhai was not wrong and there is no negligence. But the panel’s opinion is not explanatory. Mere three lines are not sufficient to prove that Pawar is innocent. In the present case, even though there was no ICU and ventilator facility available in the opponent’s hospital, various operations were performed in the said hospital. He was compelled to shift in a serious condition. It is the duty of the doctor to enquire about the availability of ventilator.” The forum directed Pawar to pay Rs 7 lakh to Altaf with the interest of nine pcpa from the date of Dadabhai’s death and an additional Rs 10,000 as suit charges.
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