A consumer court has ordered a city-based doctor to pay Rs 14.14 lakh compensation to the family of a woman for her death due to medical negligence.

The case involves Kalpanaben Chauhan, who died of septicemia at the Civil Hospital. The Gujarat State Consumer Dispute Redressal Commission has held the first treating doctor, Dr Anil Gupta of Krishnanagar, responsible for medical negligence and ordered to compensate for her death with 6% interest during the pendency of the case for a decade.

In October 2010, Chauhan (45) was suffering from breathing problems and insufficient sleep. Her physician referred her to Dr Gupta, who asked her for admission in one Anand Surgical Hospital at Naroda Road. He diagnosed her with anaemia and prescribed blood transfusion.

On October 26, Chauhan was admitted and blood transfusion took place. When she was admitted in the hospital, a doctor in the hospital diagnosed that her low haemoglobin level was due to infection. Dr Gupta did not pay heed to this diagnosis and assured the family that blood transfusion will take care of her problem. Four days later, her condition worsened. She was also diagnosed with dengue. She was shifted to another hospital where Dr Rajesh Mishra treated her. She was put on ventilator support.

The patient was finally shifted to the Civil Hospital, where she was diagnosed having developed septicemia and she died on November 12.

A year later, Chauhan’s husband, Umakant Chauhan sued Dr Gupta, Anand Surgical Hospital, Dr Rajesh Mishra, Nidhi Hospital and an insurance agency seeking compensation for her death caused due to medical negligence. The doctors and hospitals denied the charges of medical negligence. On part of Dr Mishra, it was argued that due care was taken to deal with the infection and the patient was given antibiotics.

After a decade-long pendency of the case, the consumer court pinned liability of medical negligence on Dr Gupta. It said that Dr Mishra and two hospitals could not be held liable for medical negligence. It discharged liability of the insurance company also because Dr Gupta’s action was not covered under its policy

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