Mancherial MediLife Hospitals to pay patient Rs. 5L for causing permanent disability

Akbar Pasha Mohammad, a resident of Bellampalli in Mancherial district, fractured both bones in his left forearm after a motorcycle accident on 27 November 2018. He was admitted to a government area hospital in Mancherial where he was administered first-aid. The doctor there advised him to consult an orthopaedician.

The next day, Mr. Mohammad was admitted to MediLife Hospital in Mancherial as an inpatient. There he underwent surgery performed by Dr. Praveen where implants were inserted into his forearm. He was discharged after a week.

A few days after he was discharged, the fracture arm started bleeding. Mr. Mohammad visited the hospital where he was told that it was bad blood that was oozing out and asked him not to worry. For the next two months, he remained under the supervision of the doctor.

In January 2019, the complainant again visited the doctor as an outpatient following bleeding from his injured arm. As per the doctor's advice an X-Ray was taken. The doctor said there was no problem with the wound but the bleeding did not stop.

After a few days, Mr. Mohammad consulted Dr. Ravikanth Kolluri, an orthopaedic surgeon at Unnati Hospital in Karimnagar, who said the bone was infected and required further surgery to remove the infected implant and replace it with new implants. Otherwise, the size of the fractured bone size would decrease and would require bone grafting that would result in the shortening of the left forearm, the doctor told Mr. Mohammad.

The complainant alleged that when he questioned MediLife Hospital about negligent treatment, it did not hear him but instead threatened and warned him. Due to unbearable pain and continuous discharge from the wound, Mr. Mohammad consulted Dr. Sanjiv Kumar Behera at Yashoda Hospital, Secunderabad, and upon his advice an X-Ray was taken. He underwent another surgery as the tenderness was found positive and the surgical site, not healthy.

"Due to the negligent treatment of Medilife Hospital, the complainant became permanently disabled. The complainant completed his B.Tech with first division and was working as a work inspector in Softech Info Services and drawing a salary of Rs. 23,000 per month and other perks," read the submission of the complainant.

The hospital in its submission said that when the patient came with blood oozing out of the wound, the examination found that one of the screws implanted to the (DCP) radius + recon plating ulna was loose. "The complainant was negligent and did not take proper care and handled the wound in a rough manner due to which blood started oozing and the screw was displaced," said the hospital.

It further added that post-operative complications and infection are quite natural and common and they are to be treated properly in subsequent stages from time to time. The complainant, without reporting the matter in time to the hospital and without further consultation, approached other medical practitioners and replaced the (DCP) radius + recon plating ulna.

Observing the argument, the commission said it was a clear case of medical negligence as it was only after the treatment at Yashoda Hospital that the complainant recovered fully. The complainant went to Yashoda with complaints of pain and inability to move his left arm. These show that sufficient care was not taken while inserting the DCP plate, the commission held.

The commission asked the doctor and the hospital to jointly pay a sum of Rs. 5 lakh to the complainant as compensation for causing mental agony, harassment, and cost of medical expenses, including medicines and legal expenses.