New Delhi, The National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission has awarded ₹2 crore compensation to the family of a woman who died after her healthy left kidney was removed instead of the diseased right kidney in 2012.
The commission held Dr Rajeev Lochan, a surgeon in Uttar Pradesh, liable for gross medical negligence.
The patient, Shanti Devi, had approached the doctor in April 2012 with abdominal pain and was diagnosed with severe hydronephrosis in the right kidney.
However, subsequent radiological examinations and CT scans conducted in June 2012 revealed that the right kidney was still present while the healthy left kidney was missing.
The NCDRC also referred to findings of the Uttar Pradesh Medical Council and the Medical Council of India, both of which had held the doctor negligent.
The commission directed the doctor to pay ₹1.5 crore as compensation for negligence and ₹10 lakh each to the complainants towards loss of consortium, love and affection.
The amount is to be paid within three months along with six per cent annual interest from February 20, 2014, till actual payment.
