K L JUNEJA Vs. BAWA DAN SINGH

JUDGEMENT

(1.) In this suit for damages, the plaintiff seeks a decree for Rs.20 lacs in his favour and against defendants 1 to 3. The case set up in the plaint is as follows:-

(2.) The plaintiff is a Civil Engineer, who acquired B.E. from I.I.T., Delhi, and M.Tech from I.I.T., Kanpur, and worked in various capacities in several Govt. and semi Govt. institutions and construction companies. Defendant No.1, M/s. Bawa Dan Singh & Sons, is a partnership concern and defendants 2 and 3 are its partners. Defendant No.1 is the owner of multi-storeyed building, namely, 14, Barakhamba Road, New Delhi. Defendant No.1 employed defendant No.4 Ashok Nanda, a Builder and Structural Engineering Consultant, to carry out the project of construction on the floor above the fourth floor of the building in question. On December 16, 1989, the plaintiff on the invitation of the defendant No.4 visited the above said building, then under construction, for inspection of the material at fifth floor in his capacity as a consultant. After making the inspection of the material, while the plaintiff was on his way out of the building, he fell into the basement thereof through an unfenced opening. As a result of the fall the plaintiff sustained multiple fractures of spine, etc. Defendant No.4 removed the plaintiff to Deepak Memorial Hospital located in distant Shahdara instead of taking him to any nearby Civil Hospital or a Nursing Home. The said Deepak Memorial Hospital was not equipped to render any kind of emergency treatment to the plaintiff. On the next day, viz., December 17, 1989, the plaintiff was shifted to Ganga Ram Hospital, Rajender Nagar, New Delhi, where he was operated upon on December 20, 1989 for providing a metallic support to his backbone. The plaintiff, due to the injuries, was and remains incapacitated and totally immobile which resulted in bedsores. The plaintiff remained under the treatment of various hospitals, namely, Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Natural Care Centres at Lajpat Bhawan, Karol Bagh, and Nursing Homes - Handa Nursing Home, and Delhi Centre at Nizamuddin. In August 1990 the plaintiff was again operated upon for removal of the metallic support. Since the condition of the plaintiff did not improve he consulted a private neurologist, namely, Dr. A.K. Purohit of the Nizam Institute of Medical Sciences, Hyderabad, for which he had to pay him a heavy fee. Besides the fee, the plaintiff also paid his air fare from Hyderabad to Delhi and back. The said doctor prescribed costly medicines but the condition of the plaintiff has not improved. Rather the condition of the plaintiff turned serious due to the bedsores. In April 1992 the plaintiff was admitted to Handa Nursing Home where he remained upto August 1992. During that period he was operated upon number of times. Even after getting discharged from the hospital the bedsores of the plaintiff required constant dressing. The plaintiff as a result of the operations and the treatment had to incur an expenditure of Rs.5.50 lacs, the details whereof are as follows :- <FRM>JUDGEMENT_684_DRJ40_1997Html1.htm</FRM>

(3.) Besides due to his condition, the plaintiff has to incur recurring medical expenses of Rs.1 lac to Rs.1.50 lacs per year. The plaintiff by legal notice dated October 19, 1993 required defendants 1 to 4 to pay compensation for the damage and injury suffered by him. However, the plaintiff did not receive a positive response from the defendants and as a result thereof he instituted the instant suit praying, inter alia, for the following reliefs :-