Pay patient’s kin ₹5L, interest for failing to give post-surgery care: State consumer commission

The complainant, advocate Balraj Chandnani, stated that in March 2007, he approached Dr Shashiraj Shetty of Mahatma Gandhi Mission Hospital, CBD Belapur, for a knee-replacement surgery.

The State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (SCDRC) has directed a Belapur doctor to pay ₹5 lakh with 9% interest to a patient’s family, for failing to take care of the patient after he underwent a knee-replacement surgery 11 years ago.

The State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (SCDRC) has directed a Belapur doctor to pay ₹5 lakh with 9% interest to a patient’s family, for failing to take care of the patient after he underwent a knee-replacement surgery 11 years ago. (Getty Images/iStockphoto (Representative Image))

The complainant, advocate Balraj Chandnani, stated that in March 2007, he approached Dr Shashiraj Shetty of Mahatma Gandhi Mission Hospital, CBD Belapur, for a knee-replacement surgery. Shetty operated Chandnani’s left knee on January 29, 2008, and discharged him eight days later. He was advised to undergo a knee-replacement surgery for his right leg also, for which, he was operated upon on February 20 the same year.

Chandnani alleged that after the second operation, he developed pain and felt a state of imbalance. Shetty asked him not to worry and said he will overcome the problem within a week. The complainant opted for discharge on March 8, 2008, but claimed the discomfort persisted. He also claimed that Shetty had refused to share MRI reports for tests done in February.

Chandnani’s family sought treatment from another specialist. A fresh MRI report showed damage to his spinal cord. He was also detected with Parkinson’s disease and other ailments, following which, he was advised to undergo physiotherapy sessions and was put on medication. He also had to get admitted on several occasions. The complainant alleged that he suffered from these complications because during his knee-replacement surgery at Mahatma Gandhi Mission Hospital, he was given an overdose of anaesthesia. Chandnani then demanded a compensation of ₹28 lakh from the hospital and filed a complaint in 2010 before the SCDRC. Chandnani however, died pending the complaint on August 24, 2011, after which, his daughters were added as beneficiaries to the complaint, and they contested the case.

The doctor and hospital denied the allegations and contended that all standard procedures were followed by them.

The SCDRC held that the doctor, who conducted the knee-replacement surgery, knew that complainant was suffering from Parkinson’s disease and spinal cord stenosis, despite which he advised Chandnani to undergo the surgery. The commission further observed that after the operation, when Chandnani complained about discomfort, the doctor did not give him any treatment. Hence, the commission held that the doctor failed to take proper care of the complainant after operation.