Man’s complaint against rehab centre for abusing son quashed in Chennai

By Express News Service  |   Published: 20th March 2017 04:20 AM  |  

CHENNAI: A consumer court in the city has dismissed a petition by a resident  of Chitlapakkam for failing to produce medical evidence to prove that his alcohol-addicted son was abused physically when he was in a rehabilitation centre.

P Bhaskaran said he admitted his son, aged 17, to Stepping Stone Foundation at Villivakam, after coming to know he was addicted to alcohol. The father alleged that every month when he visited his son, he would find old and new wounds on his son’s limbs and his son would complain about torture as well. The complainant alleged that he was forced to discharge his son from the rehabalitation centre and admit him at VHS hospital for further treatment, resulting in more than `two lakh expense in just a year.

The rehabilitation centre argued that the boy tried to escape from the centre many times, even injuring a staff,  but had indeed recovered with good health and only then discharged from the centre.

The District Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum, Chennai (North), presided by K Jayabalan found that VHS hospital, where the boy had been admitted had not issued a discharge summary detailing what kind of treatment the teenager underwent. Therefore, since there was no other proof to substantiate the claims, the forum found that the rehab centre could not be accused of deficiency in service and dismissed the case with no costs.