The Tamil Nadu State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (SCDRC) has in a recent order directed the Apollo Hospitals in Chennai to pay a compensation of ₹57.64 lakh to the parents of a 29-year-old man from Odisha, who died in 2003, following alleged medical negligence.
The hospital is entitled to appeal against the verdict pronounced by K. Bhaskaran, presiding judicial member, and S.M. Murugesshan, member of SCDRC, on June 14, 2018 (made available in public domain now) before the National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission.
In 2004, an Odisha-based couple Narasingh Padhi and Kuri Padhi had moved the SCDRC seeking compensation for the death of their son Abhani Kumar Padhi. According to the complainants, Abhani was working in a multinational pharmaceutical company in Chennai. On May 30, 2003, he underwent piles operation in Apollo Hospitals. On October 15, 2003, accompanied by his friend Veerasekaran, he went to the hospital for post-operative check up.
All of a sudden, hospital authorities informed Mr. Veerasekaran that Abhani was unconscious and was admitted in the ICCU for recovery and treatment. From October 15 to November 2, no one, including his family members, was allowed to see him. Instead, they were informed that they could see him only after he became conscious, as he was given anaesthesia and kept on ventilator.
The complainants, who alleged that their son had become unconscious due to wrong procedure in the administration of anaesthesia, claimed that when the medical bill reached ₹3 lakh, the maximum insurance cover available for Abhani, the hospital authorities informed them that their son was brain dead and that there would be no use of continuation of life support. On November 2, 2003, he was declared dead.
A day later, Mr. Narasingh sent a letter to the hospital seeking particulars regarding the treatmentgiven to his son. When the hospital did not furnish the details, he grew suspicious about Abhani’s death and filed a case seeking a compensation of nearly ₹1 crore.
Meanwhile, the hospital, in its counter affidavit, said that the allegations were false and the complaint was filed only with a view to extract money from them.
They contended that Abhani died of brain stem dysfunction due to Sub-arachnoid Haemorrhage despite best treatment given to him and hence there was no deficiency in service on their part.
The hospital said that the victim had first come for a Master Health Check up on April 6, 2003 on being referred by his employer. He then visited the hospital on May 30, 2003 with complaints of burning sensation while passing motion for five to six months. Following this, the piles operation was done for him, under general anaesthesia, by surgeon N. Rama Moorthy. He was discharged the next day.
They claimed that the victim visited Dr. Rama Moorthy, again on October 11, 2003 with complaints of pain in rectum and occasional mucus discharge. The victim wanted definite treatment for the pain, hence he was examined under anaesthesia, administered by one Dr Monika De, on October 15, 2003.
The procedure lasted for only 15 minutes and the examination showed no abnormality. The hospital claimed that the victim was fully conscious when he was shifted to recovery room, but he suddenly suffered respiratory and cardiac arrest and was immediately resuscitated.
A cardiologist and a neurologist attended the patient. A CT scan of brain was taken which showed sub-arachnoid Haemorrhage. The attender who was with the deceased was updated about the situation. The deceased’s general condition continued to be stable. A test done on October 23, 2003 showed he had severe brain dysfunction. The next day the doctors who treated him informed his family members about the brain death.
The hospital claimed that the family members wished the life support treatment to continue. On November 1, 2003 the family wanted to discontinue the life support and after this it was withdrawn the next day and he was declared dead.
Passing orders, the Commission directed the hospital to pay ₹44.64 lakh as compensation for loss of monetary support suffered by the complainants due to death of their son, ₹10 lakh for mental agony, hardship and loss of love and affection suffered by them and ₹3 lakh towards medical expenses incurred for the treatment.
