The National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (NCDRC) has held a surgeon guilty of gross medical negligence for removing a woman’s healthy left kidney instead of her diseased right kidney, leading to her death.
The Bench of President AP Sahi and Member Bharatkumar Pandey awarded a total compensation of Rs 2 crore to the deceased woman’s family. The Commission directed payment of Rs 1.5 crore as lump sum compensation for medical negligence, Rs 10 lakh each to the complainants towards loss of love and affection, and Rs 1 lakh towards litigation expenses.
It further directed that the compensation amount would carry interest at 6 per cent per annum from February 20, 2014, the date of the patient’s death, until actual payment. In case of default beyond three months, the interest rate would stand enhanced to 9 per cent per annum.
In its order dated May 18, the Commission described the consequences of the surgical error as catastrophic. It observed that the patient’s healthy left kidney was essential for survival and that its removal, coupled with the failure of the diseased right kidney, eliminated any realistic chance of recovery. The Bench held that the negligent act warranted substantial compensation.
NCDRC described the removal of the healthy left kidney as a grave medical error amounting to negligence of the highest order. It further noted that had the left kidney remained intact, the patient could have survived for a longer period.
The matter was related to the treatment of one Shanti Devi, who had been diagnosed in April 2012 with severe hydronephrosis in her right kidney. According to pre-operative ultrasound and imaging reports, the right kidney was not functioning well, while the left kidney was completely normal. The surgery had accordingly been planned for removal of the right kidney.
However, radiological and CT scan reports conducted after the surgery in June 2012 revealed that the diseased right kidney still remained in the body, whereas the healthy left kidney had been removed.
The Commission noted that following the surgery, the patient was left only with the dysfunctional right kidney and had to undergo repeated dialysis procedures for nearly two years before eventually passing away in 2014.
Linking her prolonged suffering and death directly to the negligent surgery, it was observed that the failure to remove the diseased kidney deprived her of any meaningful chance of recovery or improvement in her medical condition.
The surgeon defended himself by contending that it was anatomically impossible to remove the left kidney through a right-side incision and claimed that such an occurrence could not have happened during the operation.
The Bench, however, rejected the explanation. It observed that the surgery had been specifically planned for the removal of the right kidney and that the doctor himself had recorded “right side nephrectomy” in the post-operative records. It further found no evidence of any independent medical procedure that could explain the absence of the left kidney and concluded that there was no satisfactory explanation for its removal.
The Commission also relied upon earlier findings of the Uttar Pradesh Medical Council, which had found the doctor negligent, suspended his medical registration for two years and recorded that a forged case sheet had been produced during the proceedings. The decision was subsequently upheld by the Medical Council of India.
While dealing with the issue of compensation, the Commission acknowledged that the exact calculations placed on record by the complainants were not fully substantiated. However, it held that substantial damages were justified considering the patient’s prolonged suffering, premature death at the age of 56, and the resulting loss of consortium and emotional support suffered by her family.
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