Delhi Consumer Commission Orders Nursing Home to Compensate for Medical Negligence

A Delhi nursing home is held liable for medical negligence after a doctor’s improper treatment led to a woman’s inability to conceive. The consumer commission ordered Rs 20 lakh compensation. The negligence involved misdiagnosis, delayed testing, and improper medication, violating professional medical conduct.

The District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission in Delhi has found a city nursing home responsible for medical negligence after a doctor's mismanagement led to a woman's permanent infertility. The commission has ordered the nursing home to pay Rs 20 lakh as compensation, inclusive of litigation expenses, to the victim, Samreen.

Samreen's complaint detailed severe omissions by Dr. Kuljit Kaur Gill at the Family Health Care Centre in Daryaganj, where improper and delayed treatment resulted in the rupture of an ectopic pregnancy. Key complaints were ignored, and necessary tests were postponed, ultimately leading to emergency surgery and a lost reproductive capacity.

The Delhi Medical Council's disciplinary review found Dr. Gill's prescriptions lacked the required investigations for a high-risk pregnancy, leading to significant professional breaches. The commission held the nursing home vicariously liable and dismissed complaints against the Health Department for lack of evidence of duty neglect.

(With inputs from agencies.)