Sangrur hospital fined Rs 10 lakh for negligence

Sanjeev Singh Bariana

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, May 28

The Punjab State Consumer Disputed Redressal Commission has ordered the Chandigarh Heart Centre, Sangrur, to pay a compensation of Rs 10 lakh to 60-year-old Kamalpreet Grewal on account of medical negligence. The hospital had given a report of successful stent implant in her heart. However, her problem persisted. The family visited Fortis Hospital, Ludhiana, and another surgery had to be performed.

President of the Commission Justice Paramjeet Singh Dhaliwal and members Rajinder Kumar Goyal and Kiran Sibal have ordered the hospital to pay the compensation with 8 per cent interest from the date of complaint (January 14, 2019) till the date of payment. The hospital is required to also pay another Rs 22,000 as litigation costs within 45 days of the receipt of the Commission order.

Grewal visited the Heart Centre on April 14, 2018, after she complained of uneasiness and pain in her chest. The family was informed after surgery that a stent implant had been done and the blockage cleared. A little later, the patient again experienced chest pain in and around her heart. When there was no response from the hospital, she was taken to the Fortis Hospital in June 2018. After tests, it was found that there was 95 per cent blockage in the artery operated in the previous hospital. After being discharged from the Fortis, the husband of the patient approached the Sangrur hospital and sought the case papers which were allegedly refused.

The Chandigarh Heart Centre in its reply argued that the procedure was successful and after the stent implant, the flow of blood was “good in all coronaries”. The second stent had been inserted at the point of second blockage, so there was no question of wrong stent implant, the reply had said. Not agreeing with the defence put forward by the Sangrur hospital to the allegations, the order noted that the hospital had been “grossly negligent” while performing the surgery due to which she had to undergo a second surgery.