MASTER HARI OM SHARMA Vs. INDRAPRASTHA APOLLO HOSPITAL

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The Present Complaint has been filed under Sec. 21 of the Consumer Protection Act, 1986 (for short 'the Act, 1986') by Master Hari Om Sharma (Minor) through his father Manoj Kumar Sharma. (hereinafter referred to as the 'Complainants') against Indraprastha Apollo Hospital and its 2 Doctors (hereinafter referred to as the 'Opposite Parties') seeking compensation of Rs.1.55 crore towards the negligent act of removing kidney of the minor without the consent of the Complainant's parents.

(2.) On 25/3/2009, Master Hari Om Sharma, aged 5 years, (hereinafter referred to be as the 'patient') was taken to Dr. Rajan Kalra (OP-3) at Kalra Child Centre in Faridabad for the complaints of large volume of blood in the stools. The child was admitted and after examination and investigations blood tests, Ultrasound (USG) of the whole abdomen the OP-3 diagnosed it as 'Intussusception' and advised for surgery. The USG showed both the kidneys were normal. On 28/3/2009, the child was shifted to Indraprastha Apollo Hospital (OP-1) for treatment from Dr. Sujit Kumar Choudhary (OP-2) the Pediatric Surgeon and Urologist.

(3.) On the evening of the same day, the child was operated by OP-2 and his team and after 6 days, shifted to KaIra Child Care Centre at Faridabad for observation. Finally, on 8/4/2009, the OP-3 discharged the child. The child's father alleged that after the surgery, the child never remained healthy and remained under continuous treatment of OP-3. On 28/7/2010, the child, for severe abdominal pain, was taken to OP-3. The USG was also done, but OP-3 misguided the child's father and told that the USG was normal. However, the Radiologist-Dr. Kuvleen Wadhwa, while performing USG hinted about something wrong with child that his left kidney was not visualized. The patient's father got suspicious and on 10/8/2010, he got done the Intra venous pyelography (I.V.P.) test of his child from Beam Imaging Centre. In the IVP, surprisingly the left kidney was not visualized. On 18/9/2010, again for 2nd opinion, fresh USG was done at Asian Institute of Medical Sciences (Asian Institute), Faridabad, which confirmed missing of left kidney. Therefore, on 1/10/2010 the father of child approached police but to no avail till date. Thereafter, the FIR bearing no. 158/2012 dtd. 18/05/2012 had been registered against all the Opposite Parties and Criminal Complaint before Metropolitan Magistrate, Saket, New Delhi was filed.