PURNAM CHANDRIAH Vs. BALANAGAR HOSPITALS PVT LTD

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Heard the learned Counsel for the appellants.

(2.) The case of the complainant is that while performing some agricultural activities at Hathnoora Village, Medak District, a tractor engaged by the owner of the land suddenly fell on him and he sustained injuries on his right side. He was shifted to M/s. Remedy Hospital, Diagnostics (Balanagar Hospitals Pvt. Ltd.) (hereinafter called as Remedy Hospital) at 9.00 p.m. on the same day. Except the first aid by the junior doctors he was not attended by the senior doctors. On the morning of the next date, patient was shifted to City Scanning Centre at Hamirpur. Hospital authorities conducted marsh clinical tests, scans, x-rays, blood tests, etc. It is the case of the complainants that after four days of admission when the right leg started swelling, the doctors did not take care and they made some scratches on the same injured portion when it started swelling and wound became infected and puss started forming. It is the say of the complainants that they amputated the right leg upto thigh and above the knee due to gangrene without taking their consent and without calling any specialist from outside the hospital. Due to this patient suffered a lot. Even after that hospital authorities wanted to do further surgery and asked the complainant to arrange Rs. 30,000. Unable to bear the additional expenditure they shifted the patient to Osmania General Hospital. The patient was treated at the Osmania General Hospital from 4.3.2000 to 23.4.2000 but the doctors there never advised further surgery and they have done only plastic surgery. It is their contention that had they taken the patient directly to Osmania General Hospital they could have saved the right leg of their son. They filed a complaint before the State Commission praying compensation of Rs. 15 lacs.

(3.) M/s. Remedy Hospital-opposite party No. 1 filed a counter stating that patient was admitted at about 11.40 p.m. on 29.1.2000. Prior to that he was admitted in People's Hospital at Kukatpally and the doctors at that hospital suspected seriousness of the problem and referred the patient to their hospital. Patient had multiple complications with tenderness of abdomen and swelling in the right lumbar region. Accordingly, x-ray was advised to find out injuries to bones. At 4.00 a.m. on 30.1.2000 patient was seen by Dr. Sukumar who suspected peripheral feeble pulses, intra-abdominal injury and haematoma. Thereafter patient was seen by Dr. Sreedhar who advised CT scan of abdomen and pelvis and vascular Doppler study of the right lower limb. The reports were available at 3.00 p.m. and patient was operated at 5.30 p.m. after arranging blood and after obtaining high risk consent from the parents of the patient. The surgery was performed by Dr. Surya Prakash, Dr. Nagendra and Dr. Sukumar, Dr. Bhaskar Reddy and Dr. Sreedhar were present to assist the doctors and the operation for vascular repair and right orchiectomy took nearly 5= hours. Opposite No. 1 submitted in their statement that post operatively the patient was put on higher antibiotics in view of magnitude and gross contamination of injury and patient was seen by Dr. Sreetharan Reddy, a Cardiovascular Surgeon and Dr. B.T. Prasad on 31.1.200 who advised conservative treatment.