The National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (NCDRC) has ordered Dr. Arvind Shah, who runs a polyclinic in the Saraspur region, to pay Rs 2.5 lakh as compensation to the mother of a patient, who died on September 6, 1997 due to medical negligence.

According to reports, Dr. Shah treated 20-year-old Prakash Kushwaha in his polyclinic in 1997.

However, Prakash died after taking medicine prescribed by the doctor.

The report also said that Dr. Shah had failed to record provisional diagnosis of Prakash’s problem before recommending treatment.

Following this, Prakash’s mother Kamla Kushwaha filed a case before State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (SCDRC) alleging that the doctor was responsible for his son’s death.

Kamla accused the Shah of medical carelessness and demanded a compensation of Rs 11.05 lakh and cost of the proceedings.

The SCDRC directed the doctor to shell out Rs 5 lakh along with interest @ 9% annually from the date of the complaint till payment and cost of Rs 5,000 to Prakash’s mother.

Shah challenged this order before NCDRC.

Taking note of inattention on part of Shah, NCDRC observed, “The doctor is clearly guilty of serious deficiency in service in not issuing a prescription for treatment to the deceased, and then not recording his diagnosis in prescription.”

“To strengthen the traditional relationship of trust between a patient and his doctor and also to guard against the unscrupulous element in this relationship, it is in the interest of both parties, particularly a reasonably competent doctor to record a prescription mentioning the patient’s history of complaints, current symptoms, his vital parameters and other clinical observations and a provisional diagnosis…” the commission further observed.

Aruna Shah, complainant's counsel, stated that the commission has also taken a critical view of doctor's professional behavior who initially asked SC that he did not attend the patient on a particular day, and afterward accepted that he had really treated him.