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Medical Negligence: Panel Enhances Compensation

The National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (NCDRC) has raised the compensation in a medical negligence case from `2 lakh awarded by the State Commission to `3,85,672, payable with 6 per cent interest from the date of complaint in 2002.

The NCDRC refused to give any relief to the City Hospital in Shimoga and three of its doctors - Dr Mallesh Hullamani (gynaecologist and obstetrician), Dr Shashikala Mallesh (gynaecologist) and Dr Jayappa (anaesthetist) - involved in the case.

The complainant, G Rajendra, alleged that his wife Manjula was admitted to the hospital in July 2000 where she delivered her third child. After the delivery, she underwent tubectomy in the same hospital on July 4, 2000. The complaint said that after the operation she lost consciousness and was in coma. She was shifted to a different hospital but was discharged after eight months. Finally, she died at her residence on July 8, 2002.

Later, Rajendra registered a complaint with the State Commission against the hospital and the doctors for medical negligence. He further alleged that the doctors did not obtain his consent before the operation.

The hospital and doctors disputed the allegation and stated that Manjula was heavily built (weighing 70 kg) and therefore, Dr Mallesh could not get the required muscle relaxation during the surgery.

For this reason, Dr Jayappa administered 70 mg of the relevant drug intravenously and she was kept on 100 per cent oxygen. After full relaxation, she was intubated and anaesthesia was maintained, the hospital maintained.

While disposing of the complaint, the State Commission awarded a compensation of `2 lakh and observed that after the operation she never regained consciousness. The contention of the hospital and doctors were found to be in conflict with their own documents. The State Commission also held that the consent of the family was not obtained before the operation. Both the hospital and Rajendra challenged the order of the State Commission before the NCDRC.

The NCDRC referred the matter to the Medical Superintendent, All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), New Delhi, and sought the views of a board of medical experts on whether the procedure followed was correct. After going through the report from AIIMS, the NCDRC held the hospital and doctors guilty of medical negligence and enhanced the compensation for Rajendra. It said the hospital and the doctors were unable to prove their claim with proper evidence, and the patient had suffered till her death.

Article referred: http://www.newindianexpress.com/states/karnataka/Med-Negligence-Panel-Enhances-Compensation/2014/08/18/article2385247.ece

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