Consumer panel asks doctor to pay Rs 7 lakh as compensation

When Ram Kali went to local a doctor last year complaining of abdominal pain, she had little idea the treatment would turn out to be a long-drawn ordeal, damaging both her kidneys in the end. In March 2006, Ram Kali visited the OP Nursing Home, run by one Dr A K Handa, because of pain in the right side of her abdomen. The doctor suggested surgery and a Ureteroscopy was performed the next day, after which Ram Kali was discharged from the nursing home. She, however, still complained of severe pain, for which Handa gave her some painkillers and performed another surgery a month later. But her condition continued to deteriorate. She went to the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), where tests revealed her kidneys had stopped functioning. The doctor's decision at OP Nursing Home, however, proved costly for him, as Ram Kali then approached the District Consumer Forum seeking redress. The forum has directed the nursing home and Handa to pay Rs 7 lakh to Ram Kali as compensation, keeping in consideration her "life-long suffering". The doctor argued that since the X-Ray report at the time showed no abnormality, he had no other alternative to find out the real cause of the pain. He said that after visiting AIIMS, Ram Kali stayed at home for some days without any medical advice, resorting to Ayurvedic medicines that might have led to her present condition. The forum refuted his claims and observed that Ram Kali's condition had deteriorated due to faulty treatment. "We have no hesitation in holding that Dr Handa at OP Nursing Home resorted to Ureteroscopy in haste and did not bother to find out the cause of pain. Instead, he resorted to administering antibiotics and painkillers, which are known toxic elements for the functioning of kidneys. The evidence as such clearly makes out a case of medical negligence and deficiency in service on his part," the forum stated. The nursing home and Handa are now liable to pay the compensation within a month of receiving the order. "We received the order this Friday and the district forum has given us a month's time to appeal to a higher body. We will appeal in the State Consumer Forum against the order," Handa told Newsline. Ganga Ram to pay Rs 25,000 in 1992 case Slamming Ganga Ram Hospital for "detaining" a patient for hours due to the non-clearance of medical bills, the Delhi Consumer Commission in a recent order has directed the hospital to pay Rs 25,000 as compensation. Commission president, Justice J D Kapoor, held the hospital guilty of deficiency in service for keeping Vandana Gupta "hostage" on account of bill clearance in March 1992. Vandana, admitted there for child delivery, was not discharged as her husband sought to shift her to a different hospital for better treatment.

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