NEW DELHI: Patients treated free of charge at government hospitals fall under the definition of 'consumers' and cases can be filed in consumer forums against hospitals for negligence, country's apex consumer forum NCDRC has said.
Holding the district medical officer and in-charge of Government Bangar Hospital in Rajasthan's Pali district guilty of negligence, resulting in the death of a road accident victim in 2001, the
National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (NCDRC) ordered Rs 10 lakh penalty on the hospital.
The order was passed by a bench comprising president Justice D K Jain and member M Shreesha on Tuesday.
Ramesh
Chand Vyas, a former commissioner of
Pali municipal council had succumbed to injuries four days after he was admitted to the hospital in June 2001.
The counsel of the respondents had argued that the complaint does not fall within the definition of consumer under the Consumer Protection Act as the patient was in a government hospital and he was treated free of cost.
The NCDRC bench referred to a 1995 judgment of the
Supreme Court which had observed that "free service would also be 'service' and the recipient a 'consumer' under the Act."
The petitioner had alleged that Vyas was admitted in the trauma ward of hospital. It was pleaded that despite repeated requests from the relatives and attendants, ultra sonography and other necessary pre-investigative tests were not performed and the diagnosis was not even explained to the patient.
