A district consumer panel has directed Max Super Speciality Hospital, Phase 6, to pay ₹20,000 compensation to a 70-year-old Nayagaon resident for deficiency in service after the hospital issued three different bills for his treatment and later reported to police that he had fled without clearing dues.
Inder Pal Bakshi, a resident of Shivalik Vihar, approached the commission, alleging that he visited the hospital with low back pain in December 2021 and doctors advised spinal surgery. Bakshi said he informed the hospital that he had insurance cover of ₹5 lakh. According to his complaint, the hospital estimated the admission and surgery cost at ₹3.9 lakh, which could increase to ₹4 lakh, and told him that he would have to pay ₹4,500 while the insurer would bear the remaining amount.
The complainant said the insurer transferred ₹2 lakh to the hospital after receiving the proposal. He was admitted on December 16 and discharged on December 22, 2021.
However, the hospital issued an interim bill of ₹8 lakh followed by another bill of ₹5 lakh on December 22 and a third bill of ₹4 lakh on December 23, according to the commission order.
Bakshi alleged that the hospital confined him on December 23 and 24 and did not provide medicines or treatment during that period. He sought ₹10 lakh compensation for mental agony and physical harassment, along with litigation expenses.
{{/usCountry}}Bakshi alleged that the hospital confined him on December 23 and 24 and did not provide medicines or treatment during that period. He sought ₹10 lakh compensation for mental agony and physical harassment, along with litigation expenses.
{{/usCountry}}The hospital denied the allegations and told the commission that the actual bill stood at ₹8 lakh but it reduced the amount to ₹4 lakh after considering Bakshi’s financial condition. It also said he and his family members left the hospital without paying ₹79,786 in dues, following which it filed a police complaint on December 24.
The commission, comprising president SK Aggarwal and members Paramjeet Kaur and Lt Col Jasbir Singh Bath, noted that the hospital had issued different bills for the same treatment period.
The panel said the hospital’s conduct amounted to unfair trade practice and awarded Bakshi ₹20,000 for mental agony, harassment and deficiency in service.
The commission also noted that the hospital had reported Bakshi’s departure to police, which it said showed negligence on the hospital’s part in allowing the patient to leave.
The hospital must pay the compensation within 30 days. If it fails to do so, the amount will carry 6% annual interest from the date of the order until payment. The panel also directed the hospital to deposit ₹10,000 each with the tricity consumer courts welfare association and the legal aid fund of the commission within 30 days.