Mumbai, June 15: The Maharashtra State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (SCDRC) has upheld a South Mumbai District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission order holding Mumbai’s Jaslok Hospital and Research Centre liable for deficiency in service in connection with the treatment of a four-year-old girl who died after suffering severe complications following sclerotherapy treatment.
The State Commission dismissed the hospital’s appeal and confirmed the district commission’s July 20, 2019 order directing the hospital to pay Rs 6 lakh compensation along with 9 per cent interest from June 28, 2014 till July 20, 2019 towards mental agony and financial losses suffered by the complainant, Deepu Jacob.
Treatment Timeline And Complications
According to the complaint, Jacob’s daughter underwent three sessions of sclerotherapy using bleomycin and lipiodol injections for treatment of a vascular malformation in her right foot in February, April and June 2014.
Following the third procedure on June 27, 2014, the child developed vomiting and breathing difficulties. Although she was discharged the next day, her condition worsened during her journey back to Jodhpur.
The child was subsequently admitted to Umaid Hospital in Jodhpur and later shifted to Apollo Hospital in Ahmedabad, where she remained critically ill for several months. She died on February 10, 2015. Her death certificate recorded the cause of death as “Bleomycin induced lung injury; acute respiratory distress syndrome with shock.”
Hospital’s Defence Rejected
The hospital challenged the district commission’s findings, arguing that the treatment had been administered with due care and that pulmonary complications were a known, though rare, risk associated with bleomycin therapy.
It further contended that a paediatric resident doctor had examined the child before discharge and that the complainant had failed to produce expert medical evidence establishing negligence.
Commission Findings On Negligence
Rejecting the hospital’s contentions, the State Commission observed that the child had complained of breathlessness and vomiting after the third session and that the hospital failed to establish that a paediatrician had properly examined her before discharge.
“Though in first two sessions, the patient has not reacted but in the third session when the patient was making a complaint about breathlessness and vomiting, it was the duty of the hospital to provide the best treatment. In-house doctors and the paediatrician doctor should have kept the patient under observation. However, the patient was discharged by putting a remark as ‘Normal’,” the Commission noted.
The Commission further observed that despite the father’s attempts to contact the hospital after the child’s condition deteriorated, he was merely advised to seek admission at one of the hospital’s branches. It noted that the child ultimately remained on life-support until her death due to lung failure.
Legal Obligations Of Hospitals
Referring to the obligations of hospitals under the Clinical Establishments (Registration and Regulation) Act, 2010, the Commission held that a multi-speciality hospital is expected to provide timely specialist care and appropriate medical attention whenever complications arise.
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Holding that the hospital had failed to provide a paediatrician’s assessment at the time of discharge, the State Commission concluded that the district commission had committed no error in finding the hospital guilty of deficiency in service.
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