EXORBITANT COMPENSATION OF $26 MILLIONS IN MEDICAL NEGLIGENCE IN USA, WILL INDIAN COUTRS TOO PUNISH DOCTORS LIKE THIS ?

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A Midwest hospital system and several doctors of US will pay a total of $20.6 million or Rupees 142.35 crores to settle a man’s claims that he is permanently disabled because the physicians failed to diagnose and treat a ruptured aneurysm in his abdomen, as per the patient’s lawyers.The patient had filed a claim that Indiana-based Franciscan Health and its doctors missed a bleeding aneurysm on a CT scan when he visited St. James Hospital in Chicago Heights complaining of abdominal pain, nausea and vomiting.

      The initial CT scan during his 2013 hospital visit had shown the bleeding aneurysm with several other large aneurysms in his pelvic and abdominal areas. However, two radiologists failed to notice the bleeding when they reviewed the scan, and a vascular surgeon missed the bleeding when he reviewed it the next morning, according to the statement of the lawyers.

     The patient did not have any issues with ambulation when he arrived at the hospital and could perform all activities of daily living without assistance. But his condition worsened as he began to experience symptoms including weakness in his legs, dropping blood pressure and increased abdominal pain. The next morning, the hospital’s daytime attending doctor ordered a “routine MRI” to look for spinal abscesses as a potential source of Baldridge’s lower extremity weakness, according to the statement. But the MRI was never conducted, Baldridge’s condition worsened and an X-ray the hospital ordered later that day showed his large bowel was dilated, the statement said.

  He was then transferred to a sister hospital, where he underwent emergency surgery after another CT scan revealed bleeding from an aneurysm in his right iliac artery. The patient is now permanently paralyzed at 64. He has received several toe amputations, struggles with deep pressure ulcers and experiences “chronic and unrelenting pain,” the statement said.

The lawsuit alleged that the bleeding aneurysm should have been spotted in his first CT scan. He also claimed he would have received emergency surgery much sooner if it had been. “When this acute change occurred, the health care providers failed to coordinate care to get appropriate diagnostic tests and consultation with specialists. All signs were pointing towards internal bleeding, and because of a failure in communication, this was not acted upon in a timely fashion.”The hospital and doctors denied negligence, claiming his preexisting end-stage kidney disease had severely limited his life expectancy. They also claimed the ailments Baldridge suffered were known complications to the type of surgery he received, which he would have needed regardless.

The parties reached an agreement, which requires Franciscan to pay $13.5 million on behalf of the hospital while the doctors will contribute $7.1 million collectively, making it a total of $20.6 million.Such hugh compensation has not been awarded by any court in India ,although it was not ordered by court but Doctors and Hospitals in US are so afraid of Court that they usually try to settle the matter out side the Court as judiciary is mostly honest independant to political,bureaucratic,commercial  power or money there and very hard if Human basic rights are breached or not cared well.Assuming such high compensation and with presence of social and global media such news will push Indian consumers too for demanding such exorbitant sum for socalled medical negligence and Courts may be lenient to punish Doctors and hospital too such sum.

           Till today Indian courts have awarded following few high handed compensation to victims as follows:---

Compensations amounting to more than one crore have been awarded by the Supreme Court of India and National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (NCDRC) in three judgements.

In its judgment in “Dr. Balram Prasad versus Dr. Kunal Saha & Others”, the Hon’ble Supreme Court of India awarded Rs. 6.08 crores as compensation for medical negligence. After addition of interest, this figure increased to a staggering amount of Rs 11 crores.

Rs one crore each was also awarded as compensation in the judgements in Nizam Institute of Medical Sciences vs Prasanth S Dhananka and Ors and Dr. (Mrs.) Indu Sharma vs Indraprastha Apollo Hospital.

    As a result, litigations against doctors have seen a huge increase; some of these are on frivolous grounds. As a result treatment ill be costly day by day as all Doctors and hospitals must have indeminity insurance coverage with legal exerts as routinely employed or consulted in every case so that even Doctors and hospitals where presume that nothing will happen but may go to litigations. All these will make treatment very costly and unaffordable while our Government wants to give cheap and affordable treatment to all by " Ayushman Bharat " but there too legal suits will have to settled by Hospitals and Doctors,Government takes care of payment only not of law as in Government Hospitals which too are under Consumer Court but here Government Pleaders and lawyers fight so no direct loss to Doctors and Court too are mostly lenient  for very hard punishments and often poor and uaffordable persons as patients donot like to fight against Government Doctors and Hospitals.     

            So now every Doctor in India has to be very careful during treatment o patient whether in Private or Government setup ,in opd or outdoor.Due importance to clinical examination and different diagnostic tests has to be provided and an informed consent in patient's writing and language with witneess should be taken beore giving any treatment ,if patient illiterate his or her nearones should write with thumb impression of patient is must if treatment prolongs daily assessment and condition must be written with signed by patient along with witness as patient later cant complain that he or she is unaware of what happened.In indoor patients daily progress report must be prepared and in complication or delay response opinion from other experts or other investigations to confirm the cause of complication and new disease or referral to other hospitals must be done with written consent of patient and all such writing or records must be preserved.

                 Except very emergency Doctors has right to refuse the treatment so General practitioners should ot handle patients needing speciality or specailist should refer patients to super specialist if the disease is advanced or if nearby specialists and super specialists are available except emergency ,nothing should be done in good faith however patient may be related or known as harassment to Doctors by even filling  false cases are picked by media and now social media too much and often Doctors and hospitals settle them of the court paying hugh compensation to patients's attendant through their lawyers or bad name and reputation.