hi renuka, thank you very much for such enlightening stuff. i've just completed my 2nd year's exxamsand i am happy to read Hindu frontline. thanks
best regards On 5/15/09, Renuka Warrier <[email protected]> wrote: > > > Date:15/05/2009 URL: > http://www.thehindu.com/2009/05/15/stories/2009051556191000.htm > > Front Page > Nizam's Institute ordered to pay Rs.1 crore for medical negligence > > Legal Correspondent > > A computer engineer became paraplegic after a surgery in hospital > > New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Thursday directed the Nizam's Institute of > Medical Sciences (NIMS), Hyderabad, to pay Rs.1 crore as compensation > towards > medical negligence to a computer engineer, who became a paraplegic after he > underwent a surgery at the hospital in 1990. > > A Bench consisting of Justices B.N. Agrawal, H.S. Bedi and G.S. Singhvi > awarded this compensation to Prashanth S. Dhanaka. > > Moved by plight > > The Bench was moved by his plight as he himself argued the case sitting in a > wheelchair. > > He sought a huge amount as compensation from the hospital against Rs.15.5 > lakh awarded by the National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission. > > While the hospital filed an appeal against this order, he filed an appeal > for enhancement of compensation. > > Writing the judgment, Mr. Justice Bedi said, "We have no other option but to > conclude that the attending doctors were severely remiss in conducting the > operation and it is on account of the neglect the paraplegia had set in. The > support necessary for a severely handicapped person comes at an enormous > price; > physical, financial and emotional not only on the victim but even more so on > the family attendant that saps their energy and destroy the equanimity." > > Praising the appellant for arguing himself, the Bench said: "We must record > that though a deep injury was discernible, through his protracted struggle, > while confined to a wheelchair, he remained unruffled and behaved with quite > dignity, pleading his own case bereft of any rancour or invective for those > who in his perception had harmed him." > > The Bench, while calculating the compensation, took into consideration the > emotional and physical trauma he underwent, loss of marriage, his brilliant > academic > career, his future income and the medical expenditure he would incur > throughout his life. > > With interest > > The court, while directing the hospital to pay Rs.1 crore as compensation, > said the amount should be paid with six per cent interest from 1999, when > the > National Commission gave the award. > > According to Mr. Dhanaka, he went to the hospital in September 1990 for a > check-up as he was suffering from on and off fever for one year. > > On examination, it was noticed that he had a large mass in his left > hemithorax (chest cavity). > > A surgery was performed and the tumour was removed. But, post-surgery he > became a paraplegic - paralysis of the lower limbs of the body. Then he > moved the > Commission which awarded only Rs. 15.5 lakh. > > The complainant's main charge was that the tumour being a neurogenic one, > the surgery should have been handled by a neurosurgeon. > > The surgery completely disturbed the nervous system, making him paraplegic. > > Hospital's contention > > The hospital contended that the Commission had erroneously held that it was > negligent in not performing its statutory duties to interact and exchange > opinion > with sister-institutes in India and abroad and also failed to seek the > assistance of a neurosurgeon. > > "Irrelevant factors" > > The complainant's claim was not supported by any material and the Commission > had considered irrelevant factors in awarding the compensation. It sought > quashing > of the Commission's order. > > > To unsubscribe send a message to [email protected] with > the subject unsubscribe. > > To change your subscription to digest mode or make any other changes, please > visit the list home page at > http://accessindia.org.in/mailman/listinfo/accessindia_accessindia.org.in > To unsubscribe send a message to [email protected] with the subject unsubscribe. To change your subscription to digest mode or make any other changes, please visit the list home page at http://accessindia.org.in/mailman/listinfo/accessindia_accessindia.org.in
