HC grants ₹15 lakh compensation in medical negligence case

The Bombay High Court ordered Thane Municipal Corporation to pay ₹15 lakh for medical negligence that caused a child permanent disability.

MUMBAI: The Bombay high court on Tuesday directed the Thane Municipal Corporation (TMC) to pay compensation of ₹15 lakh in a medical negligence case that left a two-and-a-half-year-old child permanently disabled. The court emphasised the importance of human rights and redressal in cases pertaining to institutional negligence.

HC grants ₹15 lakh compensation in medical negligence case

In 2010, the child, Mohd Shehjan Shaikh, was admitted to the municipal Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Hospital in Thane. On account of inadequate attention, his left leg below his knee had to be amputated.

After approaching the TMC on several occasions, the child’s father, Mohammad Ziyauddin Shaikh, a plumber, was paid an ex-gratia amount of ₹10 lakh in 2014. Finding the amount inadequate for the permanent damage suffered by his son and his continuing medical expenditure, Ziyauddin approached the Maharashtra State Human Rights Commission (MSHRC).

On December 2, 2016, MSHRC directed the TMC as well as the dean of the affiliated Rajiv Gandhi Medical College to pay a compensation of ₹15 lakh with 12.50% annual interest. The MSHRC order emphasised the need for better sensitisation of hospital staff to ensure humane treatment of patients and also noted the guilt of the doctors.

The TMC then paid ₹5 lakh to complete the MSHRC’s mandated compensation amount. However, Ziyauddin stated that the earlier ₹10 lakh was voluntarily paid by the TMC prior to the MSHRC order, and thus ₹15 lakh should be paid to him. Following this, he filed a writ petition in the Bombay high court, seeking the remaining payment of ₹10 lakh with interest.

Advocates Seema Chopda and T R Yadav, representing the petitioner, argued that the child deserved full compensation, given the damage the medical negligence had done to his life. Advocates Ajit Ram Pitale and Siddharth Pitale, representing the TMC and Rajiv Gandhi Medical College, reiterated their compliance with the MSHRC order, stating that the ₹10 lakh paid before the order needed to be considered.

Justices G S Kulkarni and Advait M Sethna criticised the TMC for its failure to seek a clarification from the MSHRC in eight years. “The TMC cannot be permitted to move any clarification at such a belated stage,” they said and directed the TMC to pay an amount of ₹15 lakh, along with 12.5% interest, within six weeks. Calling “illegal” the dean’s paying only ₹5 lakh to complete the mandated compensation, the court said, “Unless there is appropriate accountability fixed, things can never change.”