Forum orders Apollo Hospitals to pay Rs 15 lakhs to patient’s kin

HYDERABAD: The Telangana State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission directed Apollo Hospitals, Jubilee Hills to pay a sum of Rs 15 lakh as compensation along with costs of Rs 15,000 to a patient’s family for deficiency in service and medical negligence. The complaint was filed by E Shantha Kumari, the wife of M R Easwaran, who died aged 53.

Easwaran was admitted in the hospital in 2012 with complaints of abdominal pain for 45 days and he also had episodes of vomiting. He was called for a colonoscopy test after two days. He underwent the test in the presence of the doctors. Within minutes of conducting the test, the nurses and staff rushed out to get a fresh oxygen cylinder. During this period, Easwaran slipped into a coma and never recovered. Although he was on a ventilator under the care of the hospital for 116 days, he passed away in 2013.

Shantha Kumari stated that her husband had undergone a colonoscopy a few days earlier. This was conducted at Mediciti Hospitals and to subject the patient to undergo another similar procedure within such a short duration was unnecessary, the complainant argued.  The court considered the view that sedation-related complications which rarely occur during the GIE procedure caused the untimely death.