A hospital was directed to pay ₹12 lakh compensation to a woman after her husband died soon after surgery. The consumer forum found medical negligence on the part of the hospital.
The forum was dealing with a complaint filed by G Srimathi Bai (41), who stated that her husband Narsing Rao was admitted at the Durgabai Deshmuk Hospital and Research Centre after suffering from a heart condition. Her husband was admitted on March 18, 2013, and tests were done. A Coronary Artery Bypass Graft (CABG) surgery was advised but was ‘postponed’.
At the hospital’s suggestion, the complainant got an Aarogyasri CMCO referral card on March 23, 2013. She said despite the ‘urgency’, the surgery was scheduled for March 28, 2013. A day later, her husband died. She also stated that the discharge summary recorded the date of admission as March 26, 2013, instead of March 18, 2013. The hospital contended there was no negligence. Since the patient was not covered under Aarogyasri, they advised treatment at government hospitals. On their insistence, the hospital, on humanitarian grounds, issued a recommendation for CMCO referral letter. After counselling, the surgery was performed on March, 28, 2013, but Rao developed refractory ventricular fibrillation, and despite treatment he died of cardiac arrest. The forum sought to know why despite having endorsed early CABG, the surgery was scheduled for March 28, 2013.“The case sheet of the 25.03.2013 and that of 26.03.2013, (Page 105) of Ex. B2 contains the endorsement that high risk consent has not been taken yet. Even the endorsement on case sheet dated 27.03.2013 contains an advice for taking high risk consent,” it stated. The forum also noted that while consent for CABG was taken, the hospital could have taken ‘high risk consent’.
“The conclusion that follows is that for no valid reason CABG surgery of the complainant’s husband was belatedly posted on 28.03.2013 in spite of an endorsement “early CABG”,” the forum stated while adding that it appeared that the case was handled in a ‘casual manner’.
The forum noted medical negligence and directed the hospital to pay ₹ 12 lakh compensation and costs of ₹ 15,000.
