Archive · 8 Sep 2026
Hyderabad Commission Awards ₹1 Crore in Fatal Stroke Case
Surya Pratap Bharati was a 30-year-old student who had a serious stroke in 2020.
He was taken to a hospital soon after collapsing.
His family said doctors missed several chances to treat him or reduce the danger from brain swelling.
The hospital said doctors could not confirm when the stroke began and that parental permission for a procedure had not been received.
Bharati was later moved to another hospital after a COVID-19 test was positive.
A second test was negative, but his brain injury had become very severe.
He died four days after the stroke while on life support.
A consumer commission later said the hospital and a neurologist were responsible for treatment failures.
It ordered them to pay his parents ₹1 crore, although the family says justice, rather than money, was its goal.
Surya Pratap Bharati suffered an ischemic stroke at the University of Hyderabad on August 17, 2020.
His family said three treatment opportunities were missed: thrombolysis, clot removal, and intervention for brain swelling.
Bharati was transferred after his condition worsened and died of cardiac arrest on August 21, 2020.
A Hyderabad consumer commission held Citizens Hospital and neurologist Aparna Vijayakumar responsible for alleged lapses.
Six years later, the commission awarded Bharati’s parents ₹1 crore; the hospital and doctor are expected to appeal.
- Who
- Surya Pratap Bharati, his parents, Citizens Hospital, and neurologist Aparna Vijayakumar were central to the case.
- What
- A Hyderabad consumer commission awarded Bharati’s parents ₹1 crore in a medical negligence case following his fatal stroke.
- When
- Bharati suffered the stroke on August 17, 2020, died on August 21, 2020, and the compensation ruling came six years later.
- Where
- The stroke occurred at the University of Hyderabad; Bharati was treated at Citizens Hospital in Nallagandla and later transferred to another hospital.
- Why
- The family alleged that doctors missed opportunities for clot treatment, mechanical clot removal, monitoring, and intervention for dangerous brain swelling.
Family and Commission’s View
Hospital’s Reported Position
Timing of initial treatment
Family and Commission’s View
The family argued that Bharati’s 2 pm phone call showed he was well shortly before collapsing, placing him within a window when intravenous thrombolysis could have been considered.
Hospital’s Reported Position
The hospital’s position was that doctors could not establish when Bharati had suffered the stroke.
Mechanical clot removal
Family and Commission’s View
The family said Bharati’s deterioration created an opportunity to consider mechanical thrombectomy and disputed the claim that parental consent had not been received.
Hospital’s Reported Position
According to the family’s lawyer, the hospital argued that it had not received parental consent for the intervention.
COVID-19 transfer and brain swelling
Family and Commission’s View
The family alleged that a positive RT-PCR result—later followed by a negative test—led to a transfer during worsening brain swelling, delaying needed monitoring or intervention.
Hospital’s Reported Position
The hospital told the family that Bharati had to be moved to a COVID-19 hospital under the protocols then in force.
- Patient
- Surya Pratap Bharati, a 30-year-old PhD student in Hindi
- Stroke date
- August 17, 2020
- Death
- August 21, 2020, from cardiac arrest while on life support
- Award
- ₹1 crore to Bharati’s parents
- Defendants
- Citizens Hospital and consultant neurologist Aparna Vijayakumar
- Claim sought
- The family’s lawyer sought ₹5 crore
- Legal route
- The family pursued the case before a consumer commission after police declined to register a case, calling it non-cognizable