Commission orders Mohali hospital and doctor to pay Rs 50 lakh compensation for medical negligence

Indian Express

18 hours ago

The District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission of Chandigarh has directed a Mohali hospital and its doctor to pay Rs 50 lakh to the family of a patient who died during the treatment due to medical negligence, noting that 'handwritten note by the deceased in his shaky handwriting in front of his wife could not be said to be 'hear say' evidence but amounts to dying declaration as per Section 32 of the Indian Evidence Act'.
Complainant Priyanka Sharma, the widow of patient Harit Sharma and their two minor sons, filed a complaint before the Consumer Commission, stating her husband was admitted to Fortis Hospital, Mohali, on the morning of July 28, 2021, as he suffered from an acute gastric problem. 'Before admitting him, the hospital conducted his COVID-19 test, which was found negative. When I went to see my husband between 12.30 pm and 1 pm on July 29, 2021, I was told that my husband had recovered from the gastric problem and wanted to be shifted to the private ward from the ICU. However, he was kept in the ICU on the pretext that his ascites was to be removed from the stomach,' the complainant stated.
The complainant alleged, 'On July 28 and 30, 2021, tapping was done, and due to negligent tapping, his oxygen level came down drastically, and he was put on oxygen support. There was panic among doctors, as Harit was fully conscious despite the oxygen mask, and he heard the conversation the Director of the hospital had during his visit that 'tapping was wrongly done upon him and it would be done again'.'
'When I went to meet my husband during the visiting hours the next day, he was unable to speak due to the mask on his mouth, but by making gestures, he asked me for a pen and paper as he wanted to write something that he could not convey verbally. He wrote a note, 'Subah Director had come; Director said Chabra has done something wrong tapping, and it will be done again',' Priyanka alleged.
The complainants alleged that due to wrong tapping, oxygen parameters of Harit 'dropped drastically and he was put on oxygen'.
Priyanka stated, 'On the morning of August 1, 2021, she received a call from the ICU Unit on her mobile that Harit's condition had deteriorated and he was not responding to the treatment, so he needed to be put on a ventilator, for which the consent was sought. I gave my consent.'
'The ventilator had to be put on Harit due to an abdominal ascetic tap. The doctor concerned negligently ruptured the diaphragm, leading to hydrothorax, which further led to acute respiratory failure. My husband was declared dead at 1.47 am on August 2, 2021,' she stated.
It was alleged that the doctors who performed the abdominal ascetic tap under the supervision of Dr Chabra on Harit were 'negligent in performing their duties'. The complainants, thus, filed a complaint at the Commission, seeking Rs 2 crore compensation.
Fortis Hospital, Mohali, and its doctor in their reply submitted before the Consumer Commission that the complaint was misconceived, unwarranted and not maintainable against them as 'there has been no negligence, deficiency in service or unfair trade practice on their part in dealing with the patient. Further, the complaint is frivolous, vexatious and liable to be dismissed'.
The hospital and the doctor further claimed that 'the complainants have not approached this Commission with clean hands, as the patient had life life-threatening condition of liver disease associated with alcohol dependence over a long period, which is associated with significant mortality. The patient was suffering from end-stage liver disease and its complications'.
Further, it submitted that Dr Mohinish Chhabra is a DM in gastroenterology, and thus, he was competent to treat the patient.
The Commission, on hearing the matter on July 29, held that, '…performing a procedure of ascitic tapping without obtaining consent of the patient or his wife, i.e. complainant No.1 (Priyanka Sharma), in itself constitutes deficiency in service. The ascitic tapping was performed on July 28, 2021, and the procedure is claimed to have been uneventful…'
On the handwritten note by the patient, the Commission said that '…handwritten note has been written by Harit Sharma since deceased in his own shaky handwriting in front of his wife, who witnessed him writing the same. Hence, this document could not be said to be 'hearsay' evidence but amounts to a dying declaration as per Section 32 of the Indian Evidence Act…'
The Commission added that '…the lack of legal consent of the patient also goes against the Opposite Parties (OPs) (Fortis Hospital, Mohali and Dr Mohinish Chabra). Once the complainants have discharged their onus of proving the medical negligence of OPs by leading corroborative evidence of a chain of circumstances, then the burden of proof shifts to the OPs. OPs being expert in the medical profession are legally bound to disprove the same to discharge their burden of proof, which they failed to do in the present case.
Hence, OPs are liable not only for medical negligence but also deficient in service and also adoptive of Unfair Trade Practice…'
Noting that 'though Harit Sharma was suffering from serious diseases, the immediate cause of his death is medical negligence of OPs,' the Commission ordered Fortis Hospital, Mohali, and its doctor to jointly pay a compensation of Rs 50 lakh to the complainants, with 9 per cent interest from the date of death, which is August 8, 2021.
'We are aware of a consumer case concerning our hospital. As we are yet to receive the official court order, we are unable to comment on the specifics at this stage. Once the order is in hand, we will conduct a thorough review and, guided by expert legal advice, take appropriate action as deemed necessary. Fortis Healthcare remains steadfast in its commitment to delivering world-class medical care with transparency and upholding the well-being and trust of our patients,' a spokesperson of Fortis Hospital, Mohali, said.