VIMHANS HOSPITAL Vs. R.C. DALAL

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The Appellant filed the instant Appeal under Sec. 19 of the Consumer Protection Act, 1986 (in short 'the Act'), against the Order dtd. 12/3/2019 passed by the State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission, Delhi (hereinafter referred to as the 'State Commission') in Consumer Complaint No. 163 of 2006, wherein the State Commission partly allowed the Complaint (Respondent herein) against the Opposite Party No. 1 (Appellant herein).

(2.) For the sake of Convenience, the parties in the present matter being referred to as position held in Consumer Complaint before the State Commission. Shri R.C. Dalal is identified as the Complainant who is the father of Master Nishank. While Medical Supdt, Vidya Sagar Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Science, (VIMHANS) is identified as Opposite Party No. 1 and the Oriental Insurance Company Limited is identified as Opposite Party No. 5.

(3.) Brief facts of the case as per the Complainant are that on 30/3/2004, Mr Nishank, the Complainant's son had symptoms of headache, nausea, and vomiting. Thus, on 1/4/2004, he was admitted to BK Hospital, Faridabad, where a CT scan was taken. He was discharged on 6/4/2004 with a diagnosis of brain tumour with clotting. The MRI on 16/4/2004 suggested chronic infective neoplastic lesion and indicated infiltrating lesion in the right parahippocampal gyrus and inferior temporal lobe. On 12/5/2004, he had vomiting and unconsciousness partially and was admitted to Safdarjung Hospital on 13/5/2004. The CT scan on 14/5/2004, revealed a lesion in the right temporo-occipital lobe with significant midline shift, possibly due to tumour bleeding or medulloblastoma. He was managed conservatively and required neurosurgery. Despite his critical condition, Safdarjung Hospital referred the case to AIIMS on 15/5/2004. Unfortunately, AIIMS did not admit him due to capacity constraints and consulted Vidya Sagar Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences (VIMHANS), Opposite Party No. 1 for better treatment and care of Dr. AK Banerji, a renowned neurosurgery specialist, and former professor who was consulted by the Complainant on 15/5/2004. Dr. Banerji advised his immediate admission for surgery. In the evening on 15/5/2004, the patient was taken to Vimhans. The CT scan taken confirmed earlier findings. The surgery to remove the tumour was performed at 10:30 PM by Dr Alok Gupta and Dr. Anil Kansal (OP-4) and was deemed successful. The complainant's request to wait for Dr. Banerji's review the next day was declined.