More and more patients are taking their doctors to Consumer Courts alleging that they are victims of medical negligence now a days.
More and more patients are taking their doctors to Consumer Courts alleging that they are victims of medical negligence.
There are cases where negligence is apparent and the forum has awarded damages to the patient and/or his relatives.
One such case is of Dr Balagopal and Perinthalmanna nursing home vs KV Radhakrishna Menon and others.
Menon’s wife Leelamma went to the nursing home with complaints of pain in the abdomen and was diagnosed of appendicitis.
The doctors decided to operate on her the same evening. However, Leelamma was asked to continue in the nursing home for 16 more days after which she was discharged and sent home.
A few days later, the patient was back complaining of pain and was re-admitted in the nursing home.
She was however, sent to the local District hospital the next day ‘as the case was very complicated’.
There she was diagnosed of gangrene of the intestines and she died a few days later.
The matter landed in the consumer courts. The District Forum rejected the consumer’s complaint on the grounds that medical negligence was not proved.
In appeal, the State Commission upheld the complaint and pronounced the doctor guilty, primarily because he did not produce the Indoor Case Papers of the patient on demand before the Court.
The Commission held that when the doctor and the nursing home were called upon to produce the case papers, and they did not do so after repeated reminders.
There was reason to believe that there was some material in it that the doctors did not wish to reveal.
On the principle of adverse inference, it would be justifiable to hold the doctors guilty of negligence in the instant matter.
The National Commission in revision upheld the State Commission’s verdict. The doctor and nursing home were ordered to pay Rs1,50,000 plus costs of Rs13,000 to Menon for the negligence leading to the death of his wife.
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
)
)
)
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}