New Delhi, Feb 28 (PTI) The Delhi High Court has rejected the city government’s plea against an order asking it to pay over Rs 23 lakh compensation to a vegetable vendor who lost an arm due to medical negligence at one of the state-run hospitals.
The vendor had visited Babu Jagjivan Ram Hospital in 2010 with lower abdominal pain, diarrhoea and vomiting and was administered some injections which led to certain complications.
He then visited a specialist doctor at LNJP Hospital where he was diagnosed with “Compartment Syndrome” and was admitted for a medical procedure. The vendor was advised to get his affected arm amputated but he got himself discharged.
He then approached the high court for medical assistance and compensation. The high court passed an order directing the constitution of an enquiry committee to look into the matter.
The committee found that due to an error of judgment on the part of doctors in identifying the complications the vendor suffered permanent disability.
A bench headed by Delhi High Court Chief Justice Satish Chandra Sharma said that “the mistake on the part of the hospital stares at its face” and the government is bound to compensate the poor man.
“The facts of the case reveal that the respondent approached appellant number two/Babu Jagjivan Ram Hospital complaining of lower abdominal pain, diarrhoea and vomiting and has come out of losing his hand. This is a case of res ipsa loquitur and the mistake on the part of the hospital stares at its face,” the court said.
The bench, also comprising Justice Subramonium Prasad, observed that losing an arm severely compromises a vegetable vendor’s capacity to conduct business and the Supreme Court has said that the courts have to be sensitive while dealing with manual labour cases where the loss of a limb is often equivalent to the loss of livelihood.
The court’s order came on an appeal by the Delhi government against a single judge order directing it to pay a sum of over Rs 23 lakh to the vendor as compensation along with interest.
“The findings of the enquiry committee which categorically states that there was a mistake in administering injections to the respondent (vendor) and both the junior resident and the senior resident failed to recognize the complication and manage the case of the respondent appropriately,” the court said.
The court further said the computation of compensation cannot be faulted with and the “poor vegetable vendor who got discharged himself from the hospital cannot be said contributed to the negligence of the doctors on duty”.
“The judgment passed by the learned single judge does not require any interference and the instant appeal preferred by the appellants cannot succeed,” the court added. PTI ADS ADS NSD NSD
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