Mumbai News: Cooper Hospital Negligence Alleged As Patient Dies After Unattended Head Injury

Mumbai: A shocking case of alleged medical negligence has surfaced at R.N. Cooper Hospital in Vile Parle, where a 52-year-old patient died after suffering a severe head injury following a fall in the bathroom. Despite heavy bleeding and the critical nature of his condition, the ward doctors allegedly failed to attend to him for nearly two hours.

Patient Left Unattended After Bathroom Fall

According to hospital records, the patient identified as Prakash Parab sustained the injury at 4:35 am on November 17 when he slipped in the bathroom while going for a nature call. Despite repeated calls from the nursing staff, doctors from the male medical ward allegedly did not arrive, raising questions about the hospital’s emergency response.

Hospital Issues Memo After Staff Alert

After nearly two hours without medical attention, staff nurses escalated the matter to the hospital administration, following which a memo was issued. The memo noted that three ward unit doctors failed to respond despite multiple calls from the nursing staff.

Family Questions Hospital Accountability

Prakash’s brother, Sunil Parab, said that he died around 7 pm the same day. “The body has been sent for post-mortem, and only then will the exact cause of death be known,” he said.

Prakash, a resident of Oshiwara, had been admitted on October 28 with a chronic liver condition and was scheduled for discharge on November 18. He worked as a driver and had long been battling liver-related complications.

Series of Negligence Complaints at Cooper Hospital

Incidents of negligence at Cooper Hospital are not new. According to health activist Tushar Bhosale, between July and September 2025, the hospital recorded 26 incidents of patients falling from beds and six cases of rat bites. Following the rat-bite cases, the BMC administration was forced to implement corrective measures.

Hospital Authorities Unreachable

The Free Press Journal attempted to seek a comment from Dr. Neelam Andrade, Director of Major Hospitals and Acting Dean of Cooper Hospital, but she did not respond to calls or messages.