The Supreme Court has awarded a compensation of ₹3.5 lakh to the kin of a man who lost his eyesight 25 years ago following a botched-up cataract surgery at a private hospital in Pune and died during the pendency of his appeal in the top court.
A bench of Justices Vikram Nath and P.B. Varale overruled the finding of the National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (NCDRC) that there was no negligence on the part of the eye surgeon.
“It was a blatant result of medical negligence by the respondent (doctor) in post-operative care wherein corrective steps could have been taken if the most reasonable and basic skills which were expected from the respondent-doctor were applied,” Justice Nath, who authored the judgment, said.
Victim Bherulal Bhimaji Oswal, a resident of Lonavala, had approached eye surgeon Madhusudan N. Kumbhare on January 11, 1999, after developing a cataract in hisright eye.
Oswal underwent surgery on January 19 at Sushrut Hospital and was discharged the same night. The next day, he visited Kumbhare with a complaint of severe pain in the operated eye and headache, following which the doctor applied a bandage and prescribed medicines and eye drops.
On January 23, Oswal once again complained of intense pain in his eye. Kumbhare removed the bandage and found that the eye had developed an abscess. The surgeon replaced the bandage and assured Oswal that the operation was successful and prescribed some painkillers.
As Oswal’s condition deteriorated, his family took him to Tasliwal, an eye surgeon from Yerawada, who referred the patient to eye specialist Chitra Khare. Khare said Oswal’s operated eye was completely damaged and recommended an eye removal surgery.
The family then approached eye specialist Nitin Prabhudesai who detected a septic infection in the eye and recommended that it be removed.
Oswal was admitted to the Military Hospital at Wanawadi on January 29, 1999, where he was diagnosed with endophthalmitis. Oswal underwent an operation and lost vision in his right eye, culminating in a protracted legal battle.
He first lodged a complaint with the district consumer court in Pune in 2000 and sought a compensation of ₹3.5 lakh, which was dismissedin 2005.
Oswal then appealed to the State Consumer Commission of Maharashtra, which in 2015 concluded that it was a case of medical negligence on the surgeon’s part and Kumbhare was directed to pay ₹3.5 lakh to the complainant within two months.
Aggrieved, Kumbhare filed a revision petition before the NCDRC. Oswal also filed a cross-petition over the fact that the state commission had not allowed the claim for special damages for the suffering he underwent due to Kumbhare’s negligence.
The NCDRC on November 20, 2018, dismissed Oswal’s cross- petition but allowed Khumbhare’s revision petition while holding that there was no medical negligence.
The matter reached the Supreme Court, which recently ruled in favour of Oswal, who died during the pendency of the appeal.
“It becomes clear that the respondent failed to detect the infection and clear the same in time despite several complaints by the appellant,” Justice Nath said. “Therefore... we deem it appropriate to restore the findings and order passed by the state commission.... The respondent is directed to pay compensation of ₹3.5 lakh to the appellants within two months, failing which the amount shall carry an interest at the rate of 12 per cent per annum from the date of judgment till its realisation.”
