The National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission has directed a doctor to pay Rs 25 lakh to the wife of a patient who died because of medical negligence after he sought treatment for cough, fever and vomiting.

Himangshu Das (53), who was a pharmacist in the West Bengal government service, visited Dr Kabir Dutta in 2015 with complaints of cough, fever and vomiting. Dr Dutta made him undergo many tests, and despite a tuberculosis test returning negative, prescribed him antitubercular medication. Das’s health worsened because of the side effects of this medication, ultimately leading to his death.

Two other doctors concluded that the prolonged use of TB medicines had badly damaged Das’s liver. One of them noted his cause of death as multiple organ failure induced by antitubercular drugs.

Relying on medical literature, a bench of Justices Ram Surat Ram Maurya and Bharatkumar Pandya held that the medicine rifampicin along with isoniazid prescribed by Dr Dutta had led to a damaged liver and eventually to the patient’s death.

The bench also held that despite Das complaining to Dr Dutta about the different colour of urine along with other side effects, the doctor committed negligence by asking him to continue with his medication instead of stopping it.

Dr Dutta, however, denied committing any negligence and said that with his over 30 years of experience, he had treated the patient honestly as per the best medical practice standards.

Kanika Das, Himangshu’s wife, filed a salary slip of the patient that showed a monthly salary of over Rs 30,000 along with provident fund deductions of Rs 12,000. Taking into account this income, the commission decided that the total income loss caused by Das’s death was over Rs 27 lakh.

However, due to the non-disclosure of the total number of family members, 66 per cent of this income loss was deducted and just over Rs 9.7 lakh was granted to Kanika. Along with this, Dr Dutta was directed to pay Kanika Rs 13.1 lakh for all the medical expenses borne by her. Over Rs 2 lakh was granted for Das’s funeral and last-rite expenses, bringing the total compensation to Rs 25 lakh.

Source: https://indianexpress.com/article/cities/delhi/doctor-pay-25-lakh-patient-dies-multiple-organ-failure-anti-tb-drugs-9026263/