TN govt to pay for woman in coma due to medical negligence

Madurai: The Madras High Court Bench came to the rescue of a woman patient, who went into coma due to alleged medical negligence at a government hospital in Kanyakumari district, and directed the state government to bear the entire expenses of her treatment and transfer her to Christian Medical College hospital, Vellore.

Delivering an interim order on a petition filed by the husband of Rukmani, the patient, Justice K K Sasidharan said, "When the State fails in its duty to give timely medical attention to the poor people, it is the primary duty of the Courts to come to the rescue of such people, who have no access to costly medical treatment in the corridors of corporate hospitals".

Justice Sasidharan directed the state government to bear the entire expenses of treatment and also ordered the patient to be shifted from the Madurai Government Rajaji Hospital (MGRH) here to Christian Medical College (CMC) hospital at Vellore, where speciality treatment is available.

The state government was also directed to pay an initial sum of Rs 2 lakh to CMC, Vellore towards the medical expenses of Rukmani, the patient.

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The Director, CMC, was also directed to submit a report to the Court on or before March 1, 2012, indicating the treatment given and the condition of the patient and the opinion of the experts concerned with respect to the treatment to be given and the scope for recovery.

Rukmani, an unskilled native labourer of Kanyakumari district, underwent family planning operation on March 18, 2011 in a government hospital in Kanyakumari.

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She later slipped into a coma, following which her husband came to know that his wife had been administered nitrous oxide instead of oxygen during the operation, resulting in heavy blood loss and neuro complaints.

Rukmani was later shifted to MGRH in April, 2011 following a complaint by her husband to the Directorate of Health.    

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While she was in MGRH, her husband filed a petition in the Madras High Court Bench here seeking compensation and to take action against those who erred during the surgery on his wife.

While the matter was pending in the court, he filed another petition seeking to transfer his wife from MGRH to any other specialty hospital and to bear the expenses to be incurred in connection with the specialised treatment.

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Justice K K Sasidharan said "this was not the time" for deciding the negligence or fixing the amount of compensation payable to the wife of the petitioner, on account of the carelessness and negligence of the medical officers.

The need of the hour was to give better treatment to the patient, he said.

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"When it is made out at least prima facie that the agents of the State were primarily responsible for the deteriorating health condition of the patient, the State is vicariously liable for their acts," Justice Sasidharan said.

The State was, therefore, bound to give the best medical care to the patient, he added.