Legal recourse should be last option

The family of Inderjit Nagpal (56), who got a pacemaker implanted at Max, sent a legal notice to the hospital alleging a badly-done implantation cost him his life, reports Jaya Shroff Bhalla.

The family of Inderjit Nagpal (56), who got a pacemaker implanted at Max, sent a legal notice to the hospital alleging a badly-done implantation cost him his life.

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I am not aware of the legal notice but the family did come for a discussion. We explained it was not negligence but a case of poor communication.

Last year, Jayant Bhuyan's family also alleged medical negligence. What do you have to say to that?
It was an accident. An internal enquiry was done and it was established that there was no willful negligence. Some people who had goofed up have long left our organisation.

Was there an out-of-court settlement with the Bhuyans?
They did not sue us and... about the compensation — none so far. We are still in talks with the family.

Why are there so many allegations of deficient services against Max?
There are more than 200 OPDs daily and over 400-500 patients are admitted at any given time. Confusions are bound to occur. I would say most arise out of poor communication rather than negligence.

What about the Manchandas? Would you agree than no one dies after a normal caesarean delivery?
I would like to have a look at
the full formal report of the post-mortem of the patient’s body before commenting.

Should a doctor be punished for wrong judgment?
Let’s be fair to both sides. In situation where opinion and judgment is needed and the disease is not life threatening, patient should seek a second opinion.

What if the patient is dissatisfied with the treatment?
The hospital management should be contacted first. If the patient is still dissatisfied, a legal recourse should be taken.
(As told to Jaya Shroff Bhalla)