The National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission, New Delhi, found the services of Bombay Hospital at Marine Lines and one of its consulting doctors “deficient” in a case that dates back almost 15 years.
The National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission, New Delhi, found the services of Bombay Hospital at Marine Lines and one of its consulting doctors “deficient” in a case that dates back almost 15 years.
In February, the commission ordered the hospital and consulting radiologist Dr Meher Dadachaji to pay a compensation of Rs1,30,000 and an additional amount of Rs15,000 to Byculla resident Sharifabi Sayed.
Sayed, now 82, had filed a complaint with the State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission in 1994 claiming Rs5,83,888 from the hospital. She said she had to pay the sum for the hospital’s erroneous diagnosis and surgery.
In May 1993, when Bombay Hospital neurologist Dr Keki Turel started operating Sayed for a tumour outside her spinal cord, he found no tumour at the said location. The operation that took place in May 1993 was thereby rendered “futile”, said Turel in his statement to the commission.
Sayed had blamed Dadachaji for faulty interpretation of an MRI report and subsequent goof-up in the surgery. A second MRI scan showed that the tumour was not in the location specified before but a little higher near the spinal cord.
In December 1997, the state commission ruled the hospital was negligent and asked it to cough up Rs1,30,000 as compensation. It, however, spared the consultant radiologist Dadachaji. The hospital appealed against this order to the national commission.
The hospital contended that it was not liable for the deficiency in service rendered by the doctors. “If an error was committed by Dr Dadachanji in interpreting Sayed’s diagnostic reports, she should be responsible and not the hospital,” it argued.
Dadachanji, however, said a senior resident doctor of the hospital had done the first MRI. In her statement to the commission, she said the senior resident doctor, as a qualified radiologist, should have performed an accurate scan of the patient.
Dadachanji’s statement claimed that the mistake occurred because of wrong labelling by technicians.
Despite making efforts, DNA could not find out the whereabouts of Dadachaji.
Deputy director of Bombay Hospital Dr Rajkumar Patil said, “I am not aware of this case. I have to check with my legal department.”
d_sumitra@dnaindia.net
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