Doctor gets infection in hospital, Apollo told to pay Rs 5.1L

Hyderabad-based hospital was asked by apex consumer commission to pay Rs 5.10 lakh to surgeon who contracted infection which led to multiple organ failure when he was admitted there.

New Delhi: A Hyderabad-based emergency centre run by a prominent hospital has been asked by apex consumer commission to pay Rs 5.10 lakh to a surgeon who contracted an infection which allegedly led to multiple organ failure when he was admitted there for removal of screws from his hip. The National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission`s (NCDRC) order came while dismissing Apollo Emergency Hospital`s plea challenging the decisions of the state and district consumer fora which had directed it to pay the compensation to its former patient Hyderabad-based orthopaedic surgeon Bommakanti Sai Krishna.

Krishna, in his complaint in the district forum, had said he had been admitted to the hospital on January 12, 2004, for removal of screws, inserted to fix a hip fracture. He had alleged that due to negligence and lack of care of the attending doctors and nurses, he contracted an infection which lead to multiple organ failure and he had to be shifted to the ICU, two days later. He was then moved to Apollo Hospital in Jubilee Hills, Hyderabad on January 16, 2004 where he underwent treatment till February 15, 2004, Krishna had said. A bench presided by Justice J M Malik rejected Apollo`s contention that there is no direct evidence against to show that the infection was acquired at the hospital and said "possibility of infection occurring is not denied and in fact is admitted in the revision petition, though very indirectly". "The infection occurred during the stay of complainant at the hospital. There is nothing to show that the source of infection lay outside the hospital. There is preponderance of possibilities of the infection having been acquired in the hospital itself. "We do not find any merit in this revision petition. The same is dismissed for want of merit," the bench said. PTI