Patient persuaded to opt for titanium implant instead of steel implant, Forum slaps Rs 80 lakh fine on orthopaedic doctor, hospital

As per various media reports, the patient had requested the doctor to opt for titanium implant and not stainless steel implant. However, the doctors went against his wish and fixed stainless steel implant resulting in botched up treatment that costed the patient his job apart from rendering him physically challenged.

The forum, in the order passed on Tuesday mandated a fine of Rs 78,66,141 which included Rs 20 lakh each by both the doctors (the doctor from VIMSAR and the other from Sambalpur-based Sparsh City hospital, a private nursing home) and the nursing home along with Rs 2.41 lakh towards treatment cost of the victim and Rs 16.25 lakh for losses incurred due to medical negligence.

The patient, Sumit Dash met an accident between Sambalpur and Burla towns in 2017, and sustained multiple fractures involving his right leg, right foot and right hand. The following day, he was admitted to the V.S.S. Medical College Hospital, Burla.

However, the orthopaedic doctor told the accident victim that the operation would be possible in a government-run hospital after four days, whereas he [the doctor] could perform the operation in a private hospital on the following day. Going by this advice, the then 24-year-old patient preferred the private nursing home over the government hospital.

He was shifted to the private hospital where he underwent surgery and stayed for 12 days, spending Rs 1.26 lakhs including Rs 42,200 as doctor fees.

During pre-operative consultations, the patient's family requested for titanium implant for the fractured bone connecting his knee and ankle, however, the surgeons went for a stainless steel implant that led to infection post operation.

Within a few months of surgery, the patient complained of pain on his right ankle and pus was formed around one of the screws implanted within. Though the patient approached the orthopaedic doctor, he only kept prescribing medicine to control the infection. Soon, the infection worsened.

In August 2018, the patient was compelled to move to a private hospital in Visakhapatnam where he was admitted for around two weeks and warranted a corrective surgery which cost him Rs 1,38,397. The corrective surgery resulted in multiple deformities in the treatment site including shortening of his right leg and the patient underwent treatments, operation and physiotherapy to restore normal functionality. The patient is still under treatment.

As the patient ran from one hospital to another for recovery, he could not join a job offered to him by an IT giant. He had got the job offer of systems engineer at Infosys with a monthly salary of Rs 27,084, however, the “wrong advice” cost him considerable time at the beginning of his career.

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The complainant's lawyer, Prem Prakash Panigrahi was quoted as saying by The New Indian Express that, “The negligence in treatment has caused lasting repercussion on my client which will continue throughout his life. The judgement will serve as an example.”

He further alleged that, "Although being a premier medical institute, if you send patients to a sub-standard level hospital for treatment, it means you don’t have belief in your own hospital. When my client was undergoing treatment, he was not given proper treatment."

Hearing the case, the court ruled that in case of non-payment of compensation within a month of the order, the defendant will be liable to pay interest of 12% per annum until realization. This apart, the consumer court has also ordered to pay another Rs 18,66,140 which includes Rs 2,41,101 spent by the complainant towards medical expenses and a pecuniary loss of Rs 16,25,040 which the complainant suffered for about 60 months after losing his job.

The forum further observed that due to deficiency in service, not only the victim, his family members too suffered turmoil and monetary losses, reports The Hindu.

Meanwhile, the lawyer of the private hospital’s owner informed that they will move the Odisha State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission against the ruling.