Patient Data Lost : Mahajan Imaging Sues Tata Communications

New Delhi: In probably the first of its kind case in the country, Mahajan Imaging, a premier radiology center has filed a class action complaint against Tata Communications limited, seeking compensation on account of the loss of valuable patient records and data. The National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (NCDRC), in response has allowed a public notice to be issued in the matter.

It is reported that the complainant, Mahajan Imaging Private Ltd,  had moved a class action suit against Tata Communications seeking compensation for having lost their data. The case of the center is that it has been preserving the record and data of all the patients, who avail of its services for clinical imaging, for future reference and research, although there is no such mandate under any law or Statute for preserving such data. It is claimed that like many other similarly placed diagnostic and imaging service providers, it does not charge any extra amount from the Patients for the said purpose; such medical record is the property of the patients and it has always endeavored to keep such data in safe custody, as the trustee of the Patients. The entire process of preservation and retrieval of data and matching the same, in order to create a legitimate, appropriate and useful medical record for each of its patients is a time consuming and a highly expensive process, yet the Centre has been painstakingly undertaking the exercise in order to live upto its self-defined responsibility towards its patients.

It is claimed by the Complainant that in October 2012, it decided to avail of its services of Tata Communications for the preservation of clinical data of thousands of its patients. Accordingly, it entered into an agreement with them for the said purpose. It is alleged that sometime in May, 2016, when the Complainant could not access servers of the Opposite Party, to retrieve some clinical data, it approached them to provide up-to-date status of the data. However, despite the assurances from the functionaries of the Opposite Party, neither any information in this regard was furnished nor any remedial steps were taken for retrieval of the data already stored with the Opposite Party. Thus, extremely important data, which included prescriptions, reports, research data and analysis, etc. was lost. having-failed to evoke any positive response from the Opposite Party to its legal notice dated 12.07.2016, the Complainant filed the present Complaint, in a representative capacity, alleging deficiency in service and abject unfair trade practices on the part of the Opposite Party, in losing valuable clinical data of the patients.