Pvt hospital told to pay Rs 11.2L for negligence

CHENGALPATTU: The Chengalpattu Consumer Court directed a private hospital in Chennai on Wednesday to pay Rs 11.2 lakh as compensation to a man who lost his 55-year-old wife allegedly due to medical negligence.

The complainant Gopala Krishnan, from Tiruvannamalai, had taken his wife Sudha to MIOT Hospitals as an outpatient in 2012 as she had developed some kidney related ailments. When the doctors told him that both her kidneys were not functioning anymore, he came forward to donate one of his kidneys to his wife in 2013. However, after the kidney transplant procedure, Sudha developed complications within a few months as the surgery site began to bleed.

Following this, Gopala Krishnan admitted his wife again in MIOT Hospitals where she died within a few days in November of 2013. After her death, Gopala Krishnan alleged negligence and filed a case against the hospital in the Chengalpattu Consumer Court. When the case came up for hearing on Wednesday, the judge noted that during the transplant, it is the norm to have two transplant surgeons and a cardiac specialist to be present in the room, however, this rule was not followed in Sudha’s case. Following this, he asked the hospital to pay a total amount of Rs 11.2 lakh, including the surgery expenses of Rs 6 lakh and Rs 5 lakh for mental agony along with the legal expenses.