1 day ago
Delhi Commission Orders Doctor to Pay Rs 35 Lakh
A woman broke her leg after falling at home in 2014.
A doctor put a plaster on it and said surgery was not needed.
She continued to have pain for a long time.
Later, doctors at Lok Nayak Hospital said the damaged bones had worsened.
A medical board said the injury should have been treated with surgery quickly.
The Delhi State Consumer Dispute Redressal Commission decided that the doctor had not provided the expected standard of care.
It ordered him to pay the woman Rs 35 lakh.
The money included compensation for her suffering and the long legal case.
The Delhi State Consumer Dispute Redressal Commission held a doctor liable for medical negligence involving a woman's fractured leg.
The woman was initially treated with a temporary plaster in February 2014 instead of the surgery later recommended by medical experts.
A Safdarjang Hospital medical board said definitive operative fixation and immediate surgical assistance were required to prevent permanent damage.
The commission awarded Rs 30 lakh in compensation and Rs 5 lakh for litigation costs.
The doctor's defense argued that ankle fractures can be treated surgically or non-surgically and that no expert opinion was initially submitted by the woman.
- Who
- The Delhi State Consumer Dispute Redressal Commission, an unnamed doctor, and the woman who suffered the fracture.
- What
- The commission found the doctor medically negligent and ordered him to pay Rs 35 lakh.
- Where
- The initial treatment occurred at a nursing home and the doctor's clinic; later assessments took place at Lok Nayak Hospital and Safdarjang Hospital in New Delhi.
- When
- The injury occurred on February 2, 2014; the commission's ruling was dated September 2, with the litigation lasting over 10 years.
- Why
- The commission found that the doctor used plaster treatment instead of the urgent surgical intervention that an expert medical board said was required.
Woman's Case
Doctor's Defense
Whether surgery was required
Woman's Case
The woman's lawyers argued that a government doctor had initially advised immediate surgery and that delaying it caused permanent joint damage.
Doctor's Defense
The doctor's lawyer argued that ankle fractures can be treated through either surgical or non-surgical methods and that a known medical complication alone should not establish negligence.
Standard of care
Woman's Case
The woman argued that repeated plastering, assurances that the fracture would heal, and delayed referral failed to meet the required standard of treatment.
Doctor's Defense
The doctor maintained that he followed standard medical protocols throughout the treatment.
Evidence of negligence
Woman's Case
A Safdarjang Hospital medical board later said that immediate surgical assistance was needed to avoid permanent damage.
Doctor's Defense
The defense said the woman filed the complaint without expert medical opinions, scientific evidence, or specific proof of negligence.
Key facts
- Compensation
- Rs 30 lakh
- Litigation costs
- Rs 5 lakh
- Total ordered payment
- Rs 35 lakh
- Injury date
- February 2, 2014
- Initial treatment
- Temporary and later permanent plastering
- Expert medical opinion
- Definitive operative fixation or immediate surgical intervention was required
- Compensation sought
- Rs 70 lakh
Quotes
Delhi State Consumer Dispute Redressal Commission
The consumer commission hearing the woman’s medical-negligence complaint
“Albeit, though the medical practitioner is not required to possess the highest level of expertise, yet he is expected to adhere to the reasonable standard of care, which in the instant case, the doctor has evidently failed to do”
indianexpress.com
Sources
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