PhD Scholar’s Death After Stroke: Hospital, Neurologist Held Liable for Treatment Deficiency; ₹50,000 Legal Costs Also Ordered
HYDERABAD, September 2:
The Hyderabad District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission has directed a private hospital and a consultant neurologist to jointly and severally pay ₹1 crore as compensation to the parents of a 30-year-old PhD scholar who died following a severe stroke in 2020.
The Commission also ordered payment of ₹50,000 towards litigation expenses, holding the hospital and the treating neurologist responsible for deficiency in medical treatment in connection with the death of Surya Pratap Bharathi, a PhD student at the University of Hyderabad.
According to the case, Bharathi suffered a massive stroke on August 17, 2020, after which he was found unconscious in his university hostel. He was subsequently shifted to Citizens Speciality Hospital for emergency treatment.
During the proceedings, the Commission examined the circumstances surrounding the treatment provided to the young scholar and observed that doctors had identified the need for an urgent mechanical thrombectomy, a procedure used in certain cases of acute stroke to remove a blood clot from a blocked blood vessel.
However, the Commission found that the required intervention was not carried out within the relevant therapeutic window, despite the urgent nature of the medical condition.
Bharathi died four days after suffering the stroke, prompting his parents to approach the consumer forum seeking compensation for the alleged medical negligence and deficiency in treatment.
Commission Rejects Consent Defence
One of the key issues considered by the Commission was the hospital’s defence that the patient’s family members were not available to provide consent for the emergency procedure.
The Commission rejected this contention, observing that where a patient is unconscious and requires immediate, life-saving medical intervention, treatment can, in appropriate circumstances, proceed on the basis of implied or presumed consent.
The Commission noted that waiting for formal consent in a critical emergency, particularly when the delay could lead to irreversible neurological damage or death, cannot be treated as an adequate justification for withholding urgently required treatment.
Hospital and Neurologist Held Responsible
After considering the circumstances of the case, the Commission concluded that the hospital and the consultant neurologist were liable for deficiency in service and treatment.
The consumer forum consequently directed both to jointly and severally compensate the deceased student’s parents with ₹1 crore, in addition to ₹50,000 towards legal expenses.
The order provides substantial relief to the bereaved parents and underlines the importance of timely emergency intervention in critical medical cases, particularly where any delay in treatment could significantly affect a patient’s chances of survival or recovery.(KNC)