Mar.19: SETTLED IN COURT
- Posted by CERC India
- Posted in March
Hospital to pay up for doing invasive test without patient’s nod   
Manmohan Kaur, 55, underwent a colonoscopy in 2012 at Fortis Hospital in Chandigarh. According to her, her consent was not obtained before performing the invasive procedure. She felt severe pain during the procedure, and asked the doctor to stop but her plea was not heeded. She became unconscious after a perforation in the colon and had to be admitted to the ICU. She underwent a surgery.
Aggrieved, Manmohan filed a complaint alleging medical negligence, but the State Commission gave a clean chit to the hospital. She approached the National Commission. The hospital claimed that it had obtained the patient’s consent, but the filed was destroyed due to water seepage in the room where the records were kept.
VerdictÂ
The National Commission ruled in favour of the complainant. It found the excuse given by the hospital for not producing the consent form lacking in credibility. It observed that “there is not even a whisper†to indicate that the treating doctor had explained to the complainant the pros and cons and the material risks involved in the procedure. It directed the hospital and treating doctor to pay Rs. 10 lakh as compensation to Manmohan and Rs. 25,000 towards litigation costs.
Point of lawÂ
The treating doctor has to take the informed consent of a patient before conducting an invasive procedure.Â
[Source: The order of the National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission, New Delhi, dated 29 June 2018 on First Appeal No. 832 of 2015]
Did You Know
Jewellers who keep their precious wares in steel almirahs will lose their insurance cover if the valuables are not kept in a safe with a complex locking system. It there is a burglary, the insurance company can repudiate the claim. This was the ruling of the National Commission in a case involving Mehta Jewellery and National Insurance Co. Ltd.
Axis Bank ordered to pay Rs. 50 lakh to customer
Rajesh Gupta took a loan of around Rs. 68 lakh from the Faridabad branch of Axis Bank in 2012. He repaid the loan in 2013, but the bank failed to return his documents. These included the builder buyer’s agreement, full and final payment receipt by the seller, and the original allotment letter of his property.
The bank said that some of the documents had been returned and the rest were lost. It also maintained that the documents, which it had failed to return, were only receipts and had no importance. Distressed, Rajesh filed a complaint.
VerdictÂ
The National Commission ruled that there was deficiency in service as in the absence of the documents, it would not be easy for the complainant to sell his property if he wished to. It observed that if the documents were of no value, as the bank claimed, the bank would not have asked Rajesh to deposit the documents for sanction of the loan.
The Commission told Axis Bank to pay Rs. 50 lakh to Rajesh as financial damages, Rs. 50,000 for causing mental agony and harassment, and Rs. 15,000 towards litigation expenses. The bank was also asked to issue an indemnity bond in favour of Rajesh regarding all the missing documents.
Point of lawÂ
If a bank does not return a customer’s documents upon repayment of a loan it is liable to pay damages.Â
[Source: The order of the National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission, New Delhi dated 27 August 2018 on Consumer Case No. 46 of 2014]
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