P JAMJHUTE Vs. SHIVA BAI

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This revision petition has been filed by Dr.P.Jamjhute of Getwell Hospital (hereinafter referred to as the Petitioner ) being aggrieved by the order of the State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission, Madhya Pradesh (hereinafter referred to as the State Commission ) in favour of one, Shiva Bai (hereinafter referred to as the Respondent ) who was the original complainant before the District Forum.

(2.) The facts of the case according to the Respondent are that in November, 2000 after undergoing treatment in Geeta Hospital at Badnagar, she took further treatment in Getwell Hospital under the Petitioner. Since her problem persisted she was advised to undergo a hysterectomy which she underwent in Petitioner s Hospital. 10 days after the operation, even though her medical condition was very bad and before the stitches were removed, she was discharged by the Petitioner. When she again went back to the hospital after a few days she was advised to come after two months since Dr.Jamjhute had gone abroad. Having no other option, she sought treatment in the Life Line Hospital where an operation was performed and it was discovered that half a metre of sponge has been left in her stomach during the hysterectomy It was because of this that her condition had deteriorated and her intestines had developed gangrene and there was pus formation. To save her life, a part of her intestine was removed and she had to incur a great deal of pain as well as expenditure on her treatment. Aggrieved by the negligence and deficiency in service of the Petitioner, Respondent approached the District Forum seeking compensation of Rs.4,85,835/- to cover the expenditure incurred in the three hospitals where she was treated, agricultural losses, mental harassment and expenditure on future treatment.

(3.) The Petitioner, on the other hand, has totally denied the contentions of the Respondent. According to the Petitioner, Respondent had approached him at Getwell Hospital on 09.11.2000 with complaints of pus formation, fever and vomiting. She was treated for these and there was no occasion to perform any abdominal operation nor was any other operation performed on the Respondent. The Respondent was discharged on 28.11.2000 after her condition improved. It later came to be known when she was operated upon in Life Line Hospital that Respondent s medical problems were due to negligence of the doctors at Geeta Hospital who had left the sponge in her abdomen during the hysterectomy operation prior to her admission in the Petitioner s hospital. All these facts were recorded by the Life Line Hospital in the Respondent s medical case history when she underwent a second corrective surgery. Thus, there was no deficiency or medical negligence on the part of the Petitioner.