Fortis hospital to pay Rs 55K for deficient service

The hospital, a subsidiary of Fortis Healthcare Ltd, was pulled up by the South West District Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum which said it was fully liable for anything that happens to a patient who is hospitalised there.

"During the treatment and hospitalisation of the patient, the opposite party (Fortis) is fully responsible for the treatment. If, any incidence or deficiency in service has taken place, the opposite party is liable for that.

"We direct opposite party to pay a sum of Rs 50,000 to complainant (Raj Kumar Arora) for providing deficient service and the harassment and mental agony caused to him along with Rs 5,000 towards cost of litigation," said the bench presided by Narendra Kumar.

The forum gave the direction while relying on the reply given by the hospital in its defence to Arora's complaint accusing it of administering expired medicine to his daughter.

The bench said, "...From the defence taken by opposite party, it shows very poor administration (on its part). The opposite party in its defence admits that during its treatment outside doctors were treating the patient... Any doctor or anybody can come in the hospital for treating the admitted patients. Prima-facie, it does not appear correct.

"During the hospitalisation, we understand outside doctors are not allowed to treat the patient under treatment of the hospital.

"We are not convinced by defence taken by the opposite party that the patient was treated by outside doctors simultaneously and the medicine was administered to the patient prescribed by some outside doctors without knowledge and permission of the opposite party." (More)