Archive · 10 Oct 2026
Consumer Commission Orders Hospital and Doctor to Pay Rs 20 Lakh
A 39-year-old man had an operation for a hernia in 2014.
After surgery, he felt chest pain and uneasy.
The hospital did an ECG, but the commission found no record of further tests or close monitoring at that time.
He later became unconscious and died.
The commission said the hospital and an attending doctor did not respond properly to his symptoms.
It did not blame the surgeon who performed the operation.
The hospital must pay his family Rs 15 lakh, and the doctor must pay Rs 5 lakh.
The National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission ordered a hospital and an attending doctor to pay Rs 20 lakh to the family of a man who died after hernia surgery.
The 39-year-old underwent laparoscopic hernia surgery at a private hospital in Faridabad on March 25, 2014, and died the following morning.
After he reported chest pain and uneasiness, an ECG was done, but the commission found no record of further tests or monitoring before his condition deteriorated.
The commission held the hospital and doctor negligent in post-operative care, but found no negligence by the surgeon who performed the operation.
The hospital was ordered to pay Rs 15 lakh and the doctor Rs 5 lakh, below the family’s claim of about Rs 2.21 crore plus medical expenses.
- Who
- A 39-year-old man, his family, the hospital, and an attending doctor.
- What
- The commission found the hospital and doctor negligent in post-operative care and ordered them to pay the family Rs 20 lakh.
- When
- The surgery took place on March 25, 2014; the man died the next morning. The article does not state when the commission issued its order.
- Where
- A private hospital in Faridabad, India.
- Why
- The commission found that timely medical attention, further investigations, and appropriate specialist support were not provided when the man developed chest pain and uneasiness.
Commission's findings
Family's concerns
Post-operative care
Commission's findings
The commission held the hospital and attending doctor negligent, citing inadequate monitoring, delayed investigations, and lack of appropriate specialist support.
Family's concerns
The man's wife questioned the care and argued that the operation had not been urgent because there was no intestinal obstruction requiring emergency surgery.
Responsibility for negligence
Commission's findings
The commission found no deficiency or negligence by the surgeon who performed the hernia operation.
Family's concerns
The family sought compensation for the death, citing the man's income and responsibility for their three children.
- Compensation awarded
- Rs 20 lakh total
- Hospital's share
- Rs 15 lakh
- Doctor's share
- Rs 5 lakh
- Surgery date
- March 25, 2014
- Patient's age
- 39
- Reported cause of death
- Pulmonary embolism
- Family's compensation claim
- About Rs 2.21 crore, plus Rs 1.31 lakh in medical expenses