23 August, 2009

'Docs not liable for death if patient conceals case history'—National Consumer Dispute Redressal Commission

Doctors can escape liability for death due to alleged medical negligence if the patient had concealed his previous medical history, the National Consumer Commission has ruled.
"Withholding and suppressing the material facts of the case history of the patient to the doctor is unpardonable conduct of patient or relatives," the Commission comprising members K S Gupta and Rajyalakshmi Rao said.
The apex consumer body passed the order on a plea of the parents of a 16-year-old, Manujesh Mukherjee, who was suffering from a genetic disorder and died in 1996 even after due medication was administered by the doctors of the West Bengal-based Sanctoria Hospital.
His parents approached the Commission seeking a compensation of Rs 35.7 lakh from the doctors for their alleged negligence which led to their son's death.
It was alleged that the parents had withheld the medical history of the patient which proved fatal for him as doctors did not know of his previous illness and line of treatment administered to him in a hospital at Vellore.
"Doctors can not be expected to know the medical history of the patient on their own, unless it is brought to their notice by the patient and their relatives," the Commission noted.
Non-disclosure of material facts to the doctors while seeking their medical service, in our view, is atrocious, the Commission said.
It expressed dismay over demands of exaggerated compensation from doctors by unfair means and advised consumers to come to the consumer fora with clean hands.
"Doctors are subjected to mental agony when their professional conduct is being questioned by unreasonable demands made by complainants only to extract exaggerated compensation through undue means. Previous medical history of the patient is a "must" to be produced before the doctor while availing their service," the Commission said.
"The doctors suffered in the hands of such insensitive, irresponsible and greedy complainants and we have scant regard for such citizens of this country," it said.
Patients or complainants should come to the consumer fora only with clean hands for availing the mechanism available under the Consumer Protection Act, the Commission said.
The apex consumer body while referring to the case said that the complaint of medical negligence is merely based on surmises and there is no prima facie evidence to establish any case of negligence.
The Commission observed that if the previous history of the patient was not concealed, the doctors could have definitely addressed to the case and would have treated the patient accordingly.
It held that the doctors have considered all the clinical aspects which they had seen at the time of diagnosing the disease of the patient and absolved them from any medical negligence.
Source:- 23 August 2009
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