NILANGSU MITRA Vs. AMRI HOSPITALS

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE two sons and the husband of the victim patient has filed this complaint against the hospital and the attending doctors of the victim patient alleging medical negligence and deficiency in service in the treatment of the said victim patient causing her death at a premature age of 52 years only.

(2.) THE brief facts giving rise to the above complaint case may be summarized as under: For some days prior to admission to the hospital namely AMRI Hospital, OP1 herein, the victim patient namely Smt. Madhumita Mitra was having fever and was under treatment of a private doctor who was treating her as TB patient. On 2.5.2005 her husband, the complainant No. 3 took her to Dr. Ranjit Chakraborty, the OP3 and disclosed to him that she has the history of TB. The said OP3 admitted the patient under him in the aforesaid hospital on the self -same day at8.45 p.m. after observing the necessary formalities. Most unfortunately the said OP3 did not treat her as a TB patient and on the contrary prescribed and treated the patient for pain and swelling of abdomen. The said OP3 from the beginning thought her to be a cancer patient and treated accordingly and after some time decided to open and operate the abdomen of the patient against the wish and desire of the complainants. The said OP3 ultimately performed a surgical procedure on the patient on 10.5.2005 by assuring the complainants that a laparoscopic procedure would be done on the patient for which the complainants need not be worried. It has been alleged in the said complaint that in the name of laparoscopic procedure, surgical operation of the abdomen was conducted by the OPs 3 and 4 namely Dr. Ranjit Chakraborty and Dr. D.J.Bhowmik in spite of repeated requests by the complainant No. 3 not to open and operate the abdomen of the victim but to treat her medically. After such medical surgical operation the condition of the patient started deteriorating. Huge stools and bloods were coming out of the abdomen for which a second surgical operation had to be done on the patient to repair the burst abdomen on 17.5.2005 by the OP4. It came to the knowledge of the complainants that the first operation was not successful for which the second operation had to be done. Thereafter the patient was transferred under Dr.D.J. Bhowmik, the OP4, for further treatment. Most unfortunately the condition of the patient was becoming more serious day by day for which she was again transferred under Dr. Dipak Ghosh the OP5 and kept in ICU. The complainants were kept in dark all the time about the treatment and the operations done on the patient. It has also been alleged that third surgical operation was conducted on the patient by the OPs 4 and 5 when the condition of the patient was more acute without informing the complainants. Thus all the three surgical operations were conducted on the patient without the consent of the complainants for which the conditions of the patient gradually deteriorated. Ultimately after third operation the complainants requested to form a medical board with Dr. Manish Pradhan but the OPs did not pay any hid to the said requests and on the other hand constituted a Medical Board comprising doctors who were attending the patient in the said hospital except Prof. Sukumar Mukherjee and Dr. R.K.D. Roy. The opinion of the Board was never communicated to the complainants and ultimately the patient expired on 1.8.2005 after about three months from the date of admission to the hospital/the OP1. The death certificate that was issued by the OP6 showed that the death was due to disseminated Tuberculosis with sub -acute intestinal obstruction with septic shock with multi -organ failure in a patient of diabetes mellitus which goes to vindicate the complaint case that she was suffering from Tuberculosis which fact having been told to the OP3 no care was taken by him to treat her as a TB patient. Accordingly a compensation has been prayed for in the aforesaid complaint case for a sum of Rs. 25 lacs for deficiency of services, medical negligence, other negligence, unfair and restrictive trade practices in rendering medical services and also for a sum of Rs. 6,67,448.06 which was incurred as medical expenses for the treatment of the patient in the aforesaid hospital including the cost of medicines, blood, etc.

(3.) THE said case has been contested by all the OPs by filing separate written versions against the said complaint. All the OPs have denied each and every allegations that have been made as aforesaid in the above complaint.