6 days ago
Doctor Ordered to Pay Rs 2 Lakh for Surgical Negligence
A man had surgery to remove a kidney stone.
After the operation, he kept bleeding and had blood clots, trouble urinating and severe pain.
His condition became worse while he remained under treatment.
He was sent to another hospital in Delhi several weeks later.
Doctors there found a damaged blood vessel near his kidney and stopped the bleeding.
The consumer commission said the original doctor should have acted sooner and referred him earlier.
It decided that this was medical negligence.
The doctor’s insurance company must pay the patient Rs 2 lakh.
The commission also said expert evidence is not always required in medical-negligence cases.
The Karnal District Consumer Commission found a doctor negligent after kidney-stone surgery caused persistent bleeding, clots, urinary retention and severe pain.
The patient underwent stenting on March 11, 2023, followed by kidney-stone removal surgery on March 26.
After his condition worsened, he was referred to Batra Hospital and Medical Research Centre in Delhi on April 7, 2023.
Angiography found a large segmental branch pseudoaneurysm, which was treated through selective embolisation to stop the bleeding.
The commission held the doctor’s professional indemnity insurer responsible for paying Rs 2 lakh compensation.
- Who
- A kidney-stone surgery patient, the treating doctor and the doctor’s professional indemnity insurer were involved; the Karnal District Consumer Commission decided the complaint.
- What
- The commission found medical negligence and ordered the insurer to pay Rs 2 lakh compensation.
- Where
- The complaint was decided by the Karnal District Consumer Commission, and the patient was referred to Batra Hospital and Medical Research Centre in Delhi.
- When
- The patient underwent procedures on March 11 and March 26, 2023; he was referred on April 7, 2023, and the commission issued its order on August 12.
- Why
- The commission found deficiencies in treatment and delayed referral despite persistent bleeding, clot retention and worsening symptoms.
Patient and Commission
Doctor’s Defense
Cause of the complication
Patient and Commission
The patient alleged that the pseudoaneurysm resulted from negligent surgery and inadequate post-operative care; the commission found the treatment and delayed escalation amounted to negligence.
Doctor’s Defense
The doctor argued that bleeding and pseudoaneurysm are known complications of renal stone surgery and do not by themselves prove negligence.
Timing of referral
Patient and Commission
The patient’s condition continued to worsen, and the commission said he should have been referred to a higher centre earlier rather than being kept under observation until April 6.
Doctor’s Defense
The doctor maintained that the patient was treated according to accepted medical standards and was referred for angio-embolisation when required.
Medical evidence
Patient and Commission
The commission relied on hospital records documenting continued bleeding and the pseudoaneurysm, and said expert evidence is not mandatory in every negligence case.
Doctor’s Defense
The doctor argued that the circumstances required medical assessment and contended that the treatment met accepted standards.
Key facts
- Compensation
- Rs 2 lakh
- Initial procedure
- Stenting on March 11, 2023
- Stone-removal surgery
- March 26, 2023
- Referral date
- April 7, 2023
- Complication found
- A large segmental branch pseudoaneurysm in the kidney’s lower pole
- Emergency treatment
- Selective embolisation stopped the bleeding
- Insurer’s role
- The professional indemnity insurer was held liable to indemnify the doctor and satisfy the award
Quotes
Karnal District Consumer Commission
Consumer commission bench comprising president Jaswant Singh and members Rajan Gupta and Ashok Vohra
“In view of the above facts and circumstances of the case, we found that, firstly, the doctor has conducted the surgery of the complainant in a negligent manner and secondly did not refer the complainant to a higher institute at an earlier stage for proper management, which also amounts to negligence on the part of the opposite party hospital”
indianexpress.com
Sources
Related news
NCDRC orders Ludhiana hospital, doctors to pay Rs 15 lakh
Woman wins Rs 6.3 lakh over negligent dental root canals
Manipal Cigna ordered to pay denied brain tumour surgery claim
Father wins Rs 94,000 after insurer rejected child's hospitalisation claim
Kerala consumer commission orders nursing agency to pay Rs 24,000
Haryana’s Dalit Shift Brings Balmiki Pride Into Hindu Identity
Punjab and Haryana HC Keeps Woman in Cheque-Bounce Trial
Karnal Killing and Encounter Ignite Caste and Gang Tensions
Truck Carrying Haryana Pilgrims Overturns in Himachal, Injuring 52
