A consumer court in Hyderabad has directed Germanten Hospitals and a doctor to pay Rs 10 lakh as compensation to a man who allegedly suffered a disability due to negligence during surgery and post-operative care.

The Hyderabad District Consumer Commission-III has observed that failure to correct a dislocated shoulder bone through surgery and negligence of the doctors in post-operative care constitute "deficiency in service". The need for a second surgery is proof that the first one had failed, it stated. The court ordered Germanten Hospitals and Dr Mir Jawad Zarkhan of Attapur in Hyderabad to pay Rs 20 lakh as compensation and Rs 25,000 towards expenses to the victim.

The victim, Pothana Suryanarayana of Secunderabad, had filed a complaint with the commission, alleging he suffered permanent disability due to negligence of the doctors who performed his surgery and sought compensation for his mental and physical suffering.

During the commission's hearing, the petitioner's lawyer, V Gowrishankar Rao, argued that his client was admitted to Germanten Hospitals on September 27, 2021, following a road accident, underwent surgery, and was discharged on October 2. Despite visiting the hospital several times for follow-up examinations, his client was examined only by a junior doctor, Rao alleged.

He further said that when the surgery failed, he was readmitted to the hospital but instead of performing another operation, they attempted to correct the dislocation manually. When the petitioner had asked why the first surgery had failed, Dr Mir Jawad Zarkhan had reportedly told him that a junior surgeon had performed the operation since 20 surgeries was scheduled on that day.

The petitioner then sought a second opinion elsewhere and underwent another surgery at a different hospital. The lawyer representing the hospital argued that the problem arose due to lack of proper physiotherapy post-operation and said that the claim of a junior surgeon performing the operation was false. He said records showed only seven surgeries were performed that day.

After hearing arguments from both sides, the commission observed that the post-operative examination prescriptions appear to be written by a junior doctor, and no evidence was presented to show that physiotherapy had been advised. The commission concluded that the need for a second surgery indicated failure of the first one. It stated that the hospital's failure to provide necessary post-operative care constituted negligence and a deficiency in service.

Source: https://www.etvbharat.com/en/state/hyderabad-consumer-court-orders-hospital-doctor-to-pay-rs-20-lakh-for-negligence-in-surgery-post-operative-care-enn25122302598