The Delhi State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission has directed Indraprastha Apollo Hospitals to compensate the family of a patient by paying a sum of ₹10 lakh. The panel held that the hospital was “deficient in services” for not disclosing details of the treatment to the family of the patient, who died later.
Directing the hospital to compensate the complainants within a month, the commission said, “The patient was not made clear about the prognosis. Relatives of the patient remained in the dark…they remained under the impression that the disease was fully curable and the treatment was standard protocol. The opposite party [the hospital] in the present case was deficient in service as relatives of the patient were never explained the prognosis [and] are hence directed to pay ₹10 lakh.”
It was alleged that the hospital stopped testing for sugar, which resulted in multiple infections, despite the patient having diabetes. The plea also claimed that the ventilator developed mechanical snags and the hospital pharmacy provided expired medicines. However, the hospital said the relatives were informed “there was no guarantee of a cure” for a disease where the immune system gets attacked.
Stating that the hospital was not guilty of “medical negligence”, the consumer panel held the authorities “deficient in services” for not disclosing details of the prognosis. Referring to previous judgments, the order read, “Fundamentally, the law requires disclosure to the patient information relating to the diagnosis of the disease, nature of the proposed treatment, potential risks of treatment and consequences of the patient refusing the suggested line of treatment... Standard of care in such cases involve the duty to disclose to patients the risks of serious side effects or alternative treatments.”