Delhi

North East

CC/437/2015

Sunil - Complainant(s)

Versus

M/s Gupta Nursing Home - Opp.Party(s)

26 Mar 2024

ORDER

DISTRICT CONSUMER DISPUTES REDRESSAL COMMISSION: NORTH-EAST

GOVT. OF NCT OF DELHI

D.C. OFFICE COMPLEX, BUNKAR VIHAR, NAND NAGRI, DELHI-93

 

Complaint Case No.437/15

In the matter of:

 

	Sh. Sunil, S/o Doodh Nath, R/o: H.No. Old-5/48, New- B4/45, Street No. 5, Near Surya Mandir, Kabir Nagar, Shahdara, Delhi 110094	Complainant
	Versus
	M/s Gupta Nursing Home 25, Raj Block, Naveen Shahdara, Delhi 110032	Opposite Party

 

DATE OF INSTITUTION:         JUDGMENT RESERVED ON:                         DATE OF ORDER  :

06.11.2015 29.01.2024 26.03.2024

 

CORAM:

Surinder Kumar Sharma, President

Anil Kumar Bamba, Member

 

ORDER

Surinder Kumar Sharma, President

The Complainant has filed the present complaint under Section 12 of the Consumer Protection Act, 1986.

Case of the Complainant

1. The case of the Complainant as revealed from the record is that on 15.09.2013, he got himself admitted with Opposite Party with the history of trauma suffered due to fall down from the height. After examination, doctors of Opposite Party advised for operation and on 18.09.2013, Complainant was referred by the Opposite Party to The Monga Medical Centre for operation. The Complainant was operated at the said hospital on 20.09.2015. After operation the Complainant was brought back at the Opposite Party for further treatment. On 25.09.2015, the Complainant was given the medicine by the medical staff of the Opposite Party and after taking the medicine Complainant made complaint of uncomfort/uneasiness. Medical staff of Opposite Party examined and told that it was just a post operation thing and there was nothing to worry about. Complainant stated that after three hours Complainant started developing itching and rashes on his entire body. Complainant stated that after a long interval, at night a doctor came and examined the Complainant and told that don’t worry it was chicken pox and Complainant would be fine very soon. Complainant stated that he was in acute pain and uneasy and requested to give some medicine but the said doctor went away without giving any treatment and said that no immediate treatment is required as it is chicken pox. Complainant stated that in the morning, the doctors of the Opposite Party told the family members of the Complainant that Complainant was well and they should get discharge the Complainant but family members of the Complainant requested for the treatment of the Complainant for his rashness and itching which was spread all over body rapidly. On 26.09.2013, the condition of the Complainant was getting more serious and the family of the Complainant made a complaint to the doctors of the Opposite Party but doctors of the Opposite Party instead of giving the best treatment but pressurized the family members of the Complainant to get the Complainant discharged from the hospital. Complainant stated that Opposite Party told that the Complainant need bed rest only and no treatment is required and there is no need to take the Complainant anywhere for any kind of treatment and family of the Complainant was advised to take the Complainant at home. Complainant stated that Opposite Party gave wrong medicine to the Complainant and due to which the condition of the Complainant developed serious complications. Complainant stated that Opposite Party did not perform any check up to see what was happened to the Complainant. Complainant stay admitted for further two days but Opposite Party neither perform any check up nor give any treatment despite repeated requests. Complainant stated that Opposite Party forced the family members of the Complainant to get the Complainant at home and ultimately on 28.09.2013, the Opposite Party get discharged the Complainant against the wishes of the family of the Complainant and the condition of the Complainant was getting more serious. Family members of the Complainant again brought the Complainant at the hospital i.e. Opposite Party and doctors examined the Complainant and again tried to cover their misdeed by stating wrong facts to the family of the Complainant. Complainant stated that he consulted the other hospitals and all the hospitals refused to admit the Complainant after going through the discharge summary papers and suggested to take the Complainant to the North Municipal Corporation Hospital, Timarpur, Delhi for best treatment. On advised, Complainant was taken the North Municipal Corporation Hospital Timarpur, Delhi who rejected the claim of the Opposite Party that the Complainant was suffering from the Chicken pox and said that it was the medical negligence on the part of the Opposite Party and they said that reaction has spread to the entire body up to extreme level and had Complainant not brought and admitted here, the Complainant would have not survived and died within 24 hours. On looking at the condition of the Complainant the doctors of the North Municipal Corporation Hospital, referred the Complainant to Pushpanjali Corsslya Hospital on 01.10.2013 and Complainant urgently got admitted in ICU and was kept upon the ventilator. Complainant stated that with the extreme efforts of the doctors the life of the Complainant was saved for which a huge amount in lakhs was spent by the family of the Complainant on the treatment. Complainant also made a written complaint with the Delhi Medical Counsel but no action was initiated by the said counsel. Complainant also sent a legal notice dated 05.08.2015 to the Opposite Party but Opposite Party instead of redressing the problem sent a false and frivolous reply. Complainant has prayed for an amount of Rs. 14,00,000/- which was spend on the treatment of the Complainant and Rs. 5,00,000/- on account of mental harassment and also litigation charges.

Case of the Opposite Party

2. The Opposite Party contested the case and filed its written statement. It is stated that there is no deficiency of service on the part of the Opposite Party. Nor there is any negligency on its part. It is stated that the respondent insured with United India Insurance Company Ltd. and therefore the case is bad for non-joinder of the parties. It is stated that on 15.09.2013 at 06:00 p.m., the Complainant came with the history of trauma suffered due to fall from the height. He was admitted under the sole supervision of Dr. Prashant Walia. His condition was stable. His MRI was done at Dr. Anand’s Imaging and Neurological Research Centre. The MRI report revealed that the Complainant was suffering from acute benign compression fracture of the L2 vertebrae body with posterolistheis. The patient was advised for surgery by Dr. Rahul K Sahu in Monga Medical Centre. The patient was found fit for surgery and consent was given by the patient. The Complainant and his attendant were taken for surgery to the The Monga Medical Centre where Dr. Rahul K Sahu had successfully performed surgery on 18.09.2013. The Complainant was recovering significantly and was sent back to the hospital of the Opposite Party on 20.09.2013. From 20.09.2013 to 23.09.2013 the Complainant was given the same treatment which was prescribed by the Monga Nursing Home. On 23.09.2013 the Complainant developed fever and he was given necessary treatment by Dr. Walia. In the afternoon on 24.09.2013, the fever of the Complainant subsided and he developed cough for which symptomatic treatment was given. Thereafter, the Complainant complaint of chest pain and his ECG was done which was normal. The patient developed skin allergy on 25.09.2013 and injection Tazomac was started. Opinion of Dr. Praveen Kumar, Dermatologist was also sought on 26.09.2013 and he examined the patient and suspected him to be suffering from chicken pox for which necessary treatment was given. The patient responded well to the treatment. The patient was discharged in his stable condition at 12 noon on 28.09.2013. On 29.09.2013, at about 11.30 a.m. the patient was brought back to the Opposite Party hospital with the history of Chicken Pox, high grade fever, itching and rashes over the body. He was examined by Dr. Walia. The patient was advised chest X-ray – PA view, ECG, CBC, LFT, KFT etc. In view of the serious condition of the patient his attendant was advised to get the patient admitted in the Opposite Party hospital. The patient was admitted in the hospital at 03.10 p.m. Opinion was sought from Dr. Praveen Kumar, Skin Specialist. But before                  Dr. Praveen Kumar could prescribe the treatment to be given to the patient, the attendant change his mind and wanted to take the patient to some other hospital at his own risk against the medical advice. The attendant gave his consent in writing for shifting the patient to some other hospital and the patient was discharged at 04.00 p.m. in stable condition. The allegations of the Complainant have been denied and it is prayed that the complaint may be dismissed.

Rejoinder to the written statement of Opposite Party

3. The Complainant filed rejoinder to the written statement of Opposite Party wherein the Complainant has denied the pleas raised by the Opposite Party and has reiterated the assertions made in the complaint.

Evidence of the Complainant

4. The Complainant in support of his complaint filed his evidence by way of affidavit, wherein he has supported the averments made in the complaint.

 

Evidence of the Opposite Party

5. In order to prove its case, Opposite Party has filed affidavit of Dr. Geeta Gupta, wherein the averments made in the written statement of Opposite Party have been supported.

Arguments & Conclusion

6. We have heard the Ld. Counsels for the parties. We have also perused the file and the written arguments filed by the Complainant and Opposite Party. The case of the Complainant is there was deficiency of service on the part of the Opposite Party. It is his case that wrong medicines were given to him by the doctors of the Opposite Party Hospital and he was wrongly diagnosed to be suffering from chicken pox. His case is that due to the negligence and deficiency of service on the part of Opposite Party Hospital, his condition deteriorated and had to go to other hospitals for treatment and in this process huge amount had to spent by him. On the other hand, the case of the Opposite Party is that there is no deficiency of service on its part. Its case is that Complainant was given proper treatment and he was discharged in his stable condition. On the next day of his discharge from the hospital, the Complainant again came to its hospital and he was examined by Dr. Praveen Kumar Skin Specialist, however, the attendant of the patient got the Complainant discharge against medical advice. In its written arguments, it is stated that the complaint filed by the Complainant was dismissed by Delhi Medical Counsel vide order dated 18.07.2017. The perusal of the file shows that the said complaint was filed by the brother of the Complainant and the same was not dismissed. Copy of its report dated 18.07.2017 had been filed by the Opposite Party. In its report, the Delhi Medical Counsel has held that Dr. Prashant Singh Walia of the Opposite Party Hospital did not exercise due diligence expected of a reasonable prudent doctor, in the treatment of the Complainant of this case. The relevant part of this report is reproduced as under:

“21. It is observed that subsequent to seeking skin consultation on 26^th September, 2013 when apparently the skin specialist suspected the patient to be suffering from chickenpox and advised valcivir 1gm, LCZ and momate cream, the physician Dr. Prashant Singh Walia did not subsequent skin review even though the patient remain hospitalized under him and continued to have new rashes which worsen till his discharge on 28^th September, 2013. He in fact at time of discharge inexplicably reduced the dosage of valcivir 1gm to 500mg. Since, early symptoms of Steven Johnson Syndrome can easily mimic the clinical presentation of chickenpox, regular review by the skin specialist, could have resulted into early establishment of a proper diagnose (i.e. Steven Johnson Syndrome) and treatment. Because of this non-review by the dermatologist the patient continued to be treated chickenpox and received several antibiotics etc. which worsened his condition. The delay in diagnosis of Steven Johnson Syndrome not only aggravated the symptoms, endangering the life of the patient (as is obvious from the fact that on 1^st October, 2013, he was required to be admitted in I.C.U of Pushpanjali Crosslay Hospital in severe respiratory distress with shock) but also cased much harassment and mental anguish to the patient and his family.

 

In light of the above, the Disciplinary Committee recommends that a warning be issued to Dr. Prashant Singh Walia (Dr. Prashant Singh, Pratap Singh Wali, Delhi Medical Counsel Registration No. 15777), as he did not exercise due diligence expected of a reasonable prudent doctor, in the treatment of the Complainant’s brother Shri Sunil Kumar.

 

Complaint stands disposed.”

 

7. Therefore, it is clear from the report that Dr. Prashtan Singh Walia of the Opposite Party Hospital did not exercise due diligence and for this reason the Complainant was admitted in ICU of Pushpanjali Crosslay Hospital which also caused much harassment and mental anguish to the patient and his family.
8. Complainant was admitted initially in the Opposite Party Hospital for treatment of injury/trauma due to fall from height. For this the Complainant was treated at Opposite Party Hospital and also operated upon at Monga Nursing Home. From the perusal of the record shows that the Complainant did not have problem or complaint regarding this treatment. The complaint is regarding subsequent treatment of skin problem.  His case is that he has spent huge amount for skin treatment. The case of the Complainant is that subsequent to the treatment of Pushpanjali Crosslay Hospital, he got treatment from Dr. Gupta Nursing and Hospital, Naveen Shahdara. However, there is nothing on record to show that the Complainant was treated for skin problem. As discussed above, as per the report of Delhi Medical Counsel, the Complainant was treated at Pushpanjali Crosslay Hospital for skin problem. One copy of the final bill has been filed by the Complainant issued by the Pushpanjali Crosslay Hospital. The perusal of the same shows that it is for Rs. 5,74,925/-.  
9. The case of the Opposite Party as mentioned in written statement is that the hospital was insured by the United India Insurance Company Ltd., however, this fact has not been proved by the Opposite Party in the evidence filed by Dr. Geeta Gupta on behalf of the Opposite Party. As per the report of Delhi Medical Counsel,            Dr. Prashant Singh Walia of Opposite Party Hospital did not take proper care and did not exercise due diligence and for this reason the Complainant had to be admitted in Pushpanjali Crosslay Hospital. It is also observed by the Delhi Medical Counsel that the patient and his family member had undergone mental agony for this.
10. In view of the above discussion, it is ordered that Opposite Party shall pay an amount of Rs. 5,74,925/- (spent by the Complainant on his treatment at Pushpanjali Crosslay Hospital) to the Complainant along with interest @ 9 % p.a. from the date of filing the complaint till recovery. It is also ordered that Opposite Party shall pay an amount of Rs. 1,00,000/- on account of mental harassment and Rs. 50,000/- on account of litigation expenses to the Complainant along with interest  @ 9 % p.a. from the date of this order till recovery.  
11. Order announced on 26.03.2024.

Copy of this order be given to the parties free of cost

File be consigned to Record Room.

(Anil Kumar Bamba)		(Surinder Kumar Sharma)
(Member)		(President)