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MRI death at Nair hospital: BMC told to pay Rs 10 lakh to victim’s family
The incident took place on January 27, 2018, when the 32-year-old Maru had gone to the civic hospital to see an ailing relative. The patient was taken for an MRI, accompanied by a female attendant and a ward boy carrying the oxygen cylinder.
The Bombay high court (HC) on Tuesday directed the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) to pay an interim compensation of Rs 10 lakh to the family of Rajesh Maru, who died after getting sucked into an MRI machine at BYL Nair Hospital last year.
The division bench of justice Akil Kureshi and justice SJ Kathwalla ruled that the incident would not have happened, but for the neglect on the part of hospital employees.
The incident took place on January 27, 2018, when the 32-year-old Maru had gone to the civic hospital to see an ailing relative. The patient was taken for an MRI, accompanied by a female attendant and a ward boy carrying the oxygen cylinder.
The victim accompanied the patient to the MRI centre. He entered the room with the metallic cylinder and was sucked into the machine along with the cylinder, due to the heavy magnetic force. Hospital staff took him to the trauma care centre where he was declared dead.
Following his death, Maru’s elderly parents and unmarried sister had approached the HC seeking compensation of Rs 1.42 crore. They claimed that outside the MRI room, the ward boy removed the oxygen cylinder from the trolley and handed it over to the deceased. They further claimed that the ward boy instructed the decease to carry the cylinder inside, although posters and notices in bold letters warned people not to carry metallic objects inside the MRI room. The family claimed that the ward boy had told the deceased that the MRI was switched off, but the BMC disputed this and claimed that the deceased had ignored the instructions and warnings.
The civic body said that all precautionary measures are taken to protect those entering the MRI room. The bench, however, questioned why the safety mechanism failed when the incident happened, and why the deceased was not prevented from entering the MRI room with the cylinder.
The bench said the civic body could not be discharged from the liability merely by displaying posters warning people not to enter the room with metallic objects. It said the civic hospital is visited by numerous people, including those from rural areas who lack awareness. The court said it would not be reasonable to expect them to know the drastic consequences of entering the MRI room with metallic objects.
