₹19L FINE
Wrong lab report leads to removal of breast
Yogesh Kumar & Shivani Azad TNN 17.03.2018
Dehradun: Almost 15 years after a woman’s breast was removed by surgeons who went solely by a wrong pathology lab report that the patient had cancer, a consumer court has ordered close to ₹19 lakh in compensation for the “victim of gross negligence”.
The Uttarakhand state consumer disputes redressal commission has held the Dehradun-based pathology and imaging centre guilty of erroneously concluding that the patient had breast cancer. Based on the diagnosis, doctors at the Rajiv Gandhi Cancer Institute and Research Centre (RGCIRC) in Delhi had conducted a surgery on the patient and removed her left breast only to find out that there was no cancerous growth.
Doctors at RGCRIC meanwhile refused to comment on the matter. Terming this to be a case of gross medical negligence which led to a lot of mental agony for the patient and her family, the commission directed Dr Ahuja’s Pathology and Imaging Centre run by Dr Alok Ahuja to pay compensation of ₹10 lakh along with 7% interest (to be calculated from April 29, 2006, the date of filing of the consumer complaint, till payment is made) along with ₹10,000 as litigation expenses. The total compensation amount including interest comes to around ₹18.5 lakh.
After the surgery in June 2003, a biopsy of the affected tissue was done at the institute which showed “no residual tumour tissue in the breast.” Doctors at RGCIRC thereafter asked for a re-examination of the tissues which had been examined by the path lab. The specimen which had been kept at the path lab was subsequently examined at RGCIRC and the report stated that there was “no evidence of malignancy.” In order to confirm the diagnosis, the specimen slide was given to another pathology lab in Delhi which also concurred that this was not a case of breast carcinoma.
Wrong lab report leads to removal of breast
Yogesh Kumar & Shivani Azad TNN 17.03.2018
Dehradun: Almost 15 years after a woman’s breast was removed by surgeons who went solely by a wrong pathology lab report that the patient had cancer, a consumer court has ordered close to ₹19 lakh in compensation for the “victim of gross negligence”.
The Uttarakhand state consumer disputes redressal commission has held the Dehradun-based pathology and imaging centre guilty of erroneously concluding that the patient had breast cancer. Based on the diagnosis, doctors at the Rajiv Gandhi Cancer Institute and Research Centre (RGCIRC) in Delhi had conducted a surgery on the patient and removed her left breast only to find out that there was no cancerous growth.
Doctors at RGCRIC meanwhile refused to comment on the matter. Terming this to be a case of gross medical negligence which led to a lot of mental agony for the patient and her family, the commission directed Dr Ahuja’s Pathology and Imaging Centre run by Dr Alok Ahuja to pay compensation of ₹10 lakh along with 7% interest (to be calculated from April 29, 2006, the date of filing of the consumer complaint, till payment is made) along with ₹10,000 as litigation expenses. The total compensation amount including interest comes to around ₹18.5 lakh.
After the surgery in June 2003, a biopsy of the affected tissue was done at the institute which showed “no residual tumour tissue in the breast.” Doctors at RGCIRC thereafter asked for a re-examination of the tissues which had been examined by the path lab. The specimen which had been kept at the path lab was subsequently examined at RGCIRC and the report stated that there was “no evidence of malignancy.” In order to confirm the diagnosis, the specimen slide was given to another pathology lab in Delhi which also concurred that this was not a case of breast carcinoma.
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