[Medical Negligence Case] Madhya Pradesh Consumer Forum orders Rs 12.5 lakh compensation for causing death of Former Judge’s wife
R.S Tomar, a retired district judge and the current chairman of the DCDRC Gwalior, filed a complaint through Advocate Anchit Jain after not receiving her deceased wife's jewels from the hospital. His wife had died as a result of complications from her Covid-19 treatment.
A bench of Gaurishankar Dubey, Rajeev Krishna Sharma, and Anju Gupta of the District Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum (DCDRC) in Shivpuri, Madhya Pradesh, recently ordered Birla Institute of Medical Research (BIMR) Hospital to pay a compensation of Rs. 12.5 lakh for causing the death of a former judge's wife due to medical negligence.
The DCDRC directed BIMR hospital to pay a compensation of Rs. 11,77,560 along with interest of 9% per annum, as well as ₹50,000 for mental agony and ₹10,000 in litigation costs.
The Complainant R.S Tomar, a retired district judge and the current chairman of the DCDRC Gwalior, contested the complaint through Advocate Anchit Jain. He filed the complaint after he did not receive the jewels of her deceased wife from the hospital. His wife had passed away from complications in her Covid-19 treatment.
To investigate the death of his wife, Tomar had sought the CCTV footage and Treatment sheets. On a review of treatment papers, the following major irregularities were revealed:
- Based on the HRCT scan, the patient was assigned to the Covid category. However, no RTPCR test was performed to determine whether the patient was indeed Covid positive or not.
- The doctor's prescribed medications were not given to the deceased patient. In contrast, she was given different medications.
- Despite the fact that the medical facility is an allopathic hospital, the deceased patient was treated by a homeopathic doctor.
- Throughout the treatment, the patient was charged for oxygen. However, oxygen was not provided for the first 35 hours of treatment.
- The patient was charged after her death.
- The patient was charged for eight remdesivir injections. However, government guidelines call for a maximum supply of six.
While dealing with the malpractice of homeopathic doctors in the allopathic institution, the Commission relied on the Supreme Court Judgments in Poonam Verma v. Ashwin Patel and Thakur and Ors. v. Hans Charitable and Ors.
The commission also noted that the hospital had committed numerous deficiencies, and it was the institution's negligence that resulted in the patient's death.
Case Title: R.S Tomar and Ors. v. BIMR and Ors.