PTI | 02:07 PM,Jul 13,2012
New Delhi, Jul 13 (PTI) The Union government has been ordered by the country's apex consumer panel to pay Rs 5 lakh as compensation to one of his employees, whose wife had died of excess bleeding in a CGHS hospital soon after giving birth to a child through cesarean section over 13 years ago. The National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (NCDRC) ordered the government to pay the compensation, as the woman died of excess bleeding after surgery with no blood available in blood bank of the Central Government Health Scheme (CGHS) maternity hospital. The government ordered compensation for the victim's husband Arvind Pandey holding the union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, the CGHS director general, the hospital and its doctor who performed the surgery, jointly liable for damages. The NCDRC held the doctor concerned, Dr Saran and the CGHS maternity hospital at R K Puram liable to pay damages saying they "failed to exercise due care on their part" leading to the death of Pandey's wife. "The concerned doctor and the hospital had failed to anticipate problems arising out of the complications and to take precautionary measures, such as arranging for the blood or keeping an ambulance ready for shifting the patient," the NCDRC bench presided by Justice R C Jain said. The NCDRC's verdict came on Pandey's complaint alleging his wife had died right after the delivery through cesarean section due to negligence of the CGHS maternity hospital and the doctors who were present during the surgery. The CGHS hospital and the doctors had contended in their defence that the best possible treatment was given to Pandey's wife, who was a high-risk patient, and that he was informed before hand to arrange blood or blood donors. (MORE)
