PGI told to pay Rs10L relief for negligence

Tribune News Service

Ramkrishan Upadhyay

Chandigarh, March 12

The State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission, Chandigarh, has directed the Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGI), Chandigarh, to pay a compensation of Rs10 lakh for negligence to a patient. The commission also directed the PGI to pay Rs50,000 as litigation cost to the patient.

Ayush Kalpasi, a resident of Pithoragarh, Uttarakhand, has filed a complaint through counsel Rakesh Sobti.

Kalpasi said he met with an accident on April 4, 2018. As a result, he suffered a fracture in his right leg. He was taken to a private hospital in Uttarakhand. He was further referred to the PGI, Chandigarh, on April 9, 2018.

He was admitted to the trauma centre of the PGI and was advised surgery of his right leg. At the time of admission, except a fracture in the right leg, his all other body parts were normal.

He alleged that on April 11, he was given strong anaesthesia before undergoing surgery of the right leg. After the surgery, he was shifted to the observation room where a room heater/blower was kept. He was unconscious due to strong anaesthesia and his left hand fell on the heater/blower lying near his bed in the observation room. Since there was no attending staff, his left hand got completely burnt. He was discharged from the PGI on April 20, 2018, after some treatment of the burnt hand. He was assured that it would be cured automatically and there would be no complications. However, the complainant suffered pain.

He revisited the PGI on April 25, and a plastic surgery was conducted on his burnt hand. He again visited the PGI as there was no sign of recovery. He said he spent a huge amount on the treatment and had now become handicapped.

The PGI denied all charges and said the complainant’s claim was rejected solely on the ground that heater/blower was not used in the month of April. The PGI said all allegations were false. Without the admit card, it was presumptive to say that the alleged injury occurred post-surgery.

After hearing the arguments, Justice Raj Shekhar Attri, president, and Padma Pandey and Rajesh K Arya, members, held the PGI guilty of negligence.

The commission said at the time of admission in the PGI, the complainant was not suffering from any burn injury on his left hand. Even in the mode of injury chart, no burn injury on the left hand of the complainant was mentioned. Thus, it is held that the other parts of the body, including the left hand of the complainant, were found to be fully healthy, except for the operation of a broken right leg.

However, at page 32 in the details of treatment on April 12, 2018 given to the complainant, it has been clearly written by the doctor concerned as under:- “intraoperative hot air blower burn to left hand during surgery.”

It reveals that it has been candidly admitted by the PGI that the left hand of the complainant was burnt due to a hot air blower. Thus, this admission in itself is sufficient to prove that the PGI was negligent and deficient in providing service to the complainant, which has caused a lot of mental agony, harassment, physical pain and stress to him, for which he is entitled to be compensated suitably.

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