Mysuru: Two doctors fined Rs 8 lakhs for medical negligence

Team Udayavani, Jan 17, 2023, 6:02 PM IST

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Mysuru: The Mysore District Consumer Court has imposed a fine of Rs 8 lakh on two doctors for causing the death of a patient due to medical negligence.

Consumer court imposed a hefty fine on Dr. Raj Kumar Wadhwa, and Dr. N. Raghavendra — both doctors of the Vikram Jyoth Hospital here.

A lawsuit had been filed alleging that the negligence of the doctors had resulted in the death of K Shakar Narayan, a resident of Kuvempu nagar in Mysuru in 2015.

K Shankar Narayan had been admitted to the Vikram Jyoth Hospital with a complaint of stomach ache in 2015.  At that time, Dr.Rajkumar Wadhwa not only treated Shankar Narayan but also advised him to take pills.  Scans of the abdomen did not show any problems. Laparoscopic surgery was done without informing the patient’s family by Dr. N. Raghavendra. Due to negligence during surgery, the patient became unconscious and went into a coma. His health continued to deteriorate due to multi-organ failure and he was put on ventilator support where he remained for 14 days.

Later, when Vanajakshi expressed her inability to pay the medical bills, Dr. N Raghavendra took the patient off life support, and discharged the patient without giving any case history. Shankar Narayan died 2 days later.

Vanajakshi and her daughter Shivani Shankar had approached the consumer court on December 14, 2017 with a complaint against the Vikram Jyoth Hospital and its doctors. They sought compensation from Dr.Rajkumar Wadhwa and Dr. N. Raghavendra, for causing the death of Shankar Narayan due to negligence.

As the case dragged on, Shankara Narayan’s wife Vanajakshi also died in 2021.

The Mysuru District Consumer Court, which investigated the case, found the allegations of medical negligence and service deficiency against Dr. Rajkumar Wadhwa and Dr. N Raghavendra to be true. The court imposed a fine Rs 8 lakh on the two doctors to be paid as compensation. In addition, the court directed the defendants to pay Rs 5,000 for legal costs.

Advocate K. Eshwara Bhat argued on behalf of Shankar Narayan’s wife and daughter.