VALSAMMA CHACKO Vs. LEELAMMA JOSEPH

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The instant Appeal has been filed under Sec. 19 of the Consumer Protection Act 1986 by the Appellant against the order of State Commission Kerala in Consumer Complaint No. 10/2005 whereby the State Commission allowed the complaint filed by the Complainant and awarded a sum of Rs.22,00,000.00.

(2.) For the convenience, the parties in this Appeal are being referred to as mentioned in the Original Complainant filed before the State Commission.

(3.) Brief facts are that on 18/9/2003, the Complainant Leela Joseph (for short, the 'patient') underwent laparoscopic assisted vaginal hysterectomy (LAVH) in G.G. Hospital (OP-1) at Thiruvananthapuram. It was performed by Dr. Valsamma Chacko (Appellant / OP-2). It was alleged that on the same day at 3pm, the OP-2 informed the patient about the injury to the urinary bladder because of complicated surgery since the bladder and uterus were fused together. She tried to repair it and then kept the patient in the ICU. It was noted at 6pm that the urine output was stopped. The OP-2 informed the patient about need of second surgery. Therefore, the Senior Urologist Dr. Sasi Kumar (OP-3) was called and performed corrective operation. However, the patient was shifted to KIMS hospital on the next day (19/9/2003) at 9:00 am. At KIMS, the doctors could not manage the bladder injury efficiently, therefore she was taken to Jaslok hospital in Mumbai and after operation, the urinary leakage was rectified. Ashe was discharged from Jaslok Hospital and was taken to Dr. Raj Maheshwari, the Uro-gynecologist in Chennai. There, he placed an implant to control passage of urine, but did not give any assurance about implant's life and functioning. It was further alleged that the LAVH was performed without doing preoperative tests and without taking informed consent. Due to negligence of the OP-2, she suffered substantial damage to her bladder and therefore, she had to undergo few major surgeries within 5 months. Being aggrieved, the Complainant filed Complaint before the State Commission to claim compensation of ? 1 crore from the OPs.