In a landmark verdict in a case of medical negligence, that will have far-reaching ramifications, the Supreme Court on Thursday awarded Rs 5.96 crore as compensation to an NRI doctor who lost his wife in 1998 following a drug overdose administered by a hospital in Kolkata.
Ohio-based practitioner Kunal Saha had earlier won a compensation of Rs 1.73 crore from the National Consumer Commission on October 21, 2011. The commission considered various factors like compensation for mental agony, costs incurred in litigation and medical expenses while fixing the amount. But Saha sought at least Rs 97 crore along with interest.
However, settling at Rs 5.96 crore, the bench of Justices CK Prasad and V Gopala Gowda directed the amount to be paid to Saha within eight weeks. By far, this is the highest compensation to be awarded in a medical negligence case by the SC and that too against a top hospital and three doctors of repute.
In May 2009, the SC granted Rs 1 crore compensation to Infosys engineer Prashant S Dhananka against Hyderabad’s Nizam’s Institute of Medical Sciences for leaving him permanently disabled. He died later in 2011.
In Saha’s case, one of the doctors Abani Roy Chowdhury passed away. Two others, Balram Prasad and Sukumar Mukherjee were asked to pay Rs 10 lakh each while Baidyanath Halder was saddled with Rs 5 lakh as he was then a junior doctor. The hospital was directed to pay the remaining amount at six per cent interest. The doctors and hospital were asked to deposit the amount within eight weeks and submit a compliance report.
While the order came as a huge blow to the hospital, the doctors got a reprieve as the National Consumer Commission directed Mukherjee to pay Rs 40 lakh and the others Rs 27.93 lakh each.
Anuradha Saha, a US-based child psychologist, had died on May 28, 1998 after she contracted a rare and deadly skin disease — Toxic Epidermal Necrolysis (TEN). Mukherjee prescribed Depo Medrol injection, 80 mg, twice daily, which the team of experts formed by the apex court felt was case of gross negligence.
About Mukherjee, the Court held: “Dr Mukherjee has shown utmost disrespect to his profession by being so casual in his approach in treating his patient. Moreover, on being charged with the liability, he attempted to shift the blame on other doctors.”
In 2009, the apex court absolved the doctors and the hospital of criminal negligence, but allowed Saha to pursue civil damages before the Consumer Court. The Consumer Commission dismissed his plea but the apex court restored the case holding that civil liability was made out. The matter again went to the Commission to decide the compensation amount that was finally settled by the recent decision.