Elderly patient develops 4 bedsores during 5 day hospital stay, dies of sepsis: Doctor, hospital slapped Rs 15.5 lakh compensation for negligence
Hoshiarpur: Holding a hospital and its treating doctor responsible for negligence in the care of a 71-year-old patient who developed four bedsores during a five-day hospitalisation and subsequently died of sepsis, the District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission, Hoshiarpur, Punjab, has directed payment of Rs 15.5 lakh to her family.
The Commission found that the hospital had failed to adequately monitor the patient, identify the pressure sores and document or treat them in time. It also relied on the hospital's death summary, which linked the patient's death to bedsore related sepsis and septic shock.
The bench passed the order on October 1, 2026.
As reported by The Indian Express, the matter concerned an elderly patient who developed a fever during the last week of September 2025. She consulted a doctor in the first week of October and was admitted to his hospital on medical advice.
After undergoing treatment for five days, she was discharged on October 6, 2025. Her family paid approximately Rs 1.16 lakh towards the hospitalisation expenses.
According to the complaint, the family noticed four bedsores on the woman's back while helping her change clothes on the night of her discharge.
They maintained that she had been conscious, responsive and able to sit during her hospital stay. They subsequently contacted the hospital and shared photographs and videos of the sores.
The complainants alleged that the treating doctor called a family member to the hospital on October 7 and acknowledged lapses by the hospital staff in maintaining the patient's hygiene and ensuring appropriate changes in her position while she was confined to bed.
The hospital reportedly prescribed medication for the bedsores and arranged dressing services at the patient's residence on four to five occasions.
However, according to the family, her condition continued to deteriorate despite treatment and further consultations.
On December 5, 2025, the woman was readmitted to the hospital in a critical condition and died the same day.
The family relied on the hospital's death summary, which recorded bedsores, acquired sepsis, septic shock and multi-organ involvement as the cause of death.
Alleging medical negligence and deficiency in service, the family approached the District Consumer Commission seeking Rs 30 lakh in compensation.
The hospital and treating doctor denied the allegations. They submitted that the patient had no bedsores when she was admitted and maintained that appropriate preventive measures had been followed during hospitalisation.
According to the hospital, these measures included regular repositioning, the use of an air mattress and adequate nutritional support.
The hospital further argued that no bedsores were recorded in the nursing or medical records during admission or at discharge. It maintained that the sores had developed only after the patient returned home.
It also submitted that when the family later approached the hospital with photographs of the sores, the patient was referred to the plastic surgery outpatient department for further management.
Regarding her subsequent death, the hospital maintained that she had been brought back in a critical condition and could not be saved despite treatment.
After examining the evidence and submissions, the Commission rejected the hospital's defence.
It observed that the patient had no history of bedsores at admission and that the appearance of four sores within a few hours of discharge was not a credible explanation.
"It is again major negligence on the part of the opposite parties, number 1 and 2 (doctor and hospital) and their staff that they could not notice the bed sores during the period of hospitalisation, especially when the clothes of the patient are changed on a daily basis in the hospital," it observed.
It found that the treating doctor and hospital staff had failed to identify and document the bedsores in the patient's medical records and initiate timely treatment.
The Commission considered these omissions significant because the sores subsequently worsened and the hospital's own death summary linked the patient's death to bedsore-related sepsis.
Holding the hospital and treating doctor responsible for medical negligence and deficiency in service, the Commission directed payment of Rs 15 lakh as compensation to the deceased patient's family.
It also awarded Rs 50,000 towards litigation expenses, taking the total amount to Rs 15.5 lakh.
