SOU INDUMATI KRISHNARAO WANKHEDE Vs. ULHAS BENDALE

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THIS first appeal has been filed against the impugned order dated 30.10.2009, passed by the Maharashtra State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission, Mumbai, Circuit Bench at Aurangabad (hereinafter referred as 'the State Commission') in Consumer Complaint No. 158 of 1997, vide which, the said complaint, filed by the appellant/complainant against opposite party no. 1, Dr. Ulhas Bendale, and opposite party no. 2, The New India Assurance Company, was ordered to be dismissed.

(2.) BRIEFLY stated, the facts of the case are that the appellant/complainant took her young son, Sanjeev for treatment to opposite party no. 1, Dr. Ulhas Bendale, who is a consulting psychiatrist and running his hospital called Yashwant Hospital at Jalgaon (Maharashtra). The said doctor had obtained insurance policy for Rs. 10 lakhs form opposite party no. 2, Insurance Company for the period from 23.06.1995 to 22.06.1996. The opposite party no. 1, Dr. Ulhas Bendale examined the patient on 13.02.1996 and opined that the patient was suffering from schizophrenia. It has been stated in the memo of appeal that opposite party no. 1, Dr. Ulhas Bendale, obtained the signatures of the husband of the complainant on a blank form, upon which the written consent was printed later on. On 13.02.1996 itself, the opposite party no. 1, Dr. Ulhas Bendale gave treatment of Electro Convulsion Therapy (ECT) and electric shocks were given to the patient without anesthesia. Some other medicines were also given to him. The said treatment of Electro Convulsion Therapy (ECT) was again administered to the patient on 15.02.1996 under general anesthesia, given by Dr. Haran Khedkar. The third ECT treatment was given on 19.02.1996 again under general anesthesia. However, the son of the complainant could not survive and died in the early hours of 21.02.1996. The doctor did not advise any post -mortem examination to establish the exact cause of death. However, the appellant made a report to the police against opposite party no. 1, Dr. Ulhas Bendale under Section 304A and 176 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). The appellant/complainant also produced on record a letter dated 14.02.1997, issued by Dr. R. G. Bhusale, Professor and Head, Department of Forensic Medicine and Toxicology, Government Medical College, Dhule, in which it has been opined that the doctor must have advised the post -mortem examination because schizophrenia was not the cause of sudden death and moreover, the patient was not suffering from any cardio or respiratory disease. The doctor was, therefore, negligent in declaring the patient dead without advising post -mortem examination.

(3.) THE consumer complaint was resisted by the opposite party no. 1, Dr. Ulhas Bendale, saying that he was practicing as a psychiatrist at Jalgaon since January, 1998 and had successfully treated numerous cases of schizophrenia. He completed his M.D. in Psychiatry Medicine in August, 1997 from Mumbai University. The appellant/complainant and her husband brought their son, Sanjeev to his clinic on 13.02.1996 at 10.30 am. The patient was diagnosed as a case of typical schizophrenia and it was decided to give treatment of anti -psychotic and Electro Convulsion Therapy (ECT) for enhancing the effect of drugs. The detailed information about the treatment was given to the appellant/complainant and written consent was also obtained before starting the treatment. In response to the ECT given on 13.02.1996, the patient regained consciousness within 15 to 20 minutes and he was shifted to a special room. Thereafter, medicines were given to him from time to time and ECT was also given on 15.02.1996 and 19.02.1996 with general anesthesia given by Dr. Haran Khedkar. The doctor has stated that the patient watched T.V. upto 10.00 pm on 20.02.1996, but when his staff tried to wake him up at 5.30 am on 21.02.1996, the patient did not respond. The doctor immediately rushed there and started giving cardio and respiratory resuscitation alongwith Dr. Haran Khedkar, but the patient was declared dead at 5.50 am and the cause of his death was determined as sudden cardio respiratory arrest. There was no request or need for autopsy, as the cause of the death was determined to be sudden cardio respiratory arrest. The complainant lodged an FIR against him on 21.08.1997 under Section 304A and 176 of the IPC and there was trial in the Court of Chief Judicial Magistrate, Jalgaon, but the doctor was acquitted, vide orders of the Court, dated 16.04.2001. Thereafter, the appellant/complainant filed a criminal revision application no. 347/2001, before the High Court and the same was also dismissed, vide order dated 24.03.2005. The special leave petition, filed before the Hon'ble Supreme Court against the order of the High Court was also dismissed on 07.09.2007. The opposite party no. 1, Dr. Ulhas Bendale has further stated that the patient had been suffering from schizophrenia, atleast since 19.07.1993 and he was under the treatment of Dr. Sudhir Bhave, Consultant Psychiatrist from 19.07.1993 to 17.10.1995. Further, the cause of death is sudden cardio respiratory arrest, and as per the medical literature contained in Modern Synopsis of Comprehensive Text Book of Psychiatry, Third Edition by Harold I Kaplan and Benjamin J Sadock, a schizophrenic patient can die due to cardio respiratory arrest. There was no need, therefore, to refer the body for autopsy as it was not a medico -legal case. Moreover, the dead body of the patient was lying in the hospital for over one day, but nobody insisted on autopsy. The opposite party no. 1, Dr. Ulhas Bendale had made his best efforts to save the patient.