The District Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum – South has asked a doctor and a private hospital to pay Rs. 5 lakh as compensation to a 62-year old man who lost an eye after cataract surgery.
The forum observed that the complainant A. K. Balakrishnan lost his eye as the doctor had not ensured that the operation theatre was sterile before conducting the surgery. The forum also blamed the hospital that rented out the theatre for deficiency in service.
Mr. Balakrishnan of Virugambakkam had consulted Dr. S. Venkatesh in his clinic in the same locality in 2005.
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The latter recommended cataract surgery followed by implanting of an intra-ocular lens. The operation was conducted in Barani Hospital in Saligramam.
A day after the surgery, the patient experienced irritation and pain in his eye. He was referred to Sankara Nethralaya for further treatment. There, the lens was removed through surgery and a micro-biological test of the lens revealed that it was contaminated.
The infection could not be cured and the patient’s left eye had to be removed and an artificial eye was fixed. Later, Dr. Venkatesh said the problem stemmed from the fact that another doctor had conducted a piles operation in the same operation theatre earlier.
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The forum, comprising its president P. Jeyapalan and members L. Deenadayalan and K. Amala, ordered the doctor to pay Rs. one lakh and the hospital to shell out Rs.4 lakh to Mr. Balakrishnan for mental agony and loss of his eye.