The Supreme Court will decide whether a 19-year-old youth, who has lost one of his eyes and partial damage to many vital organs would receive compensation from the Escorts Hospital for alleged overdose of a drug administered to him when he was barely four-year-old.

A Bench of Justice R V Raveendran has issued notice to Escorts Hospital, the Faridabad Unit and Dr N K Pandey asking   them to file their replies to the petition filed by Faridabad-based Guarav who was admitted to the hospital on April 5, 1993 after a fall from the roof.

Petition for ‘damages’

Gaurav in his petition challenged the decision of the National Consumer Redressal Commission, which dismissed his plea for award of compensation for the damage of “one eye and partial damage to another eye, decay of eyebrows, damage to kidneys, lungs, throat, food pipe, urinary track” due to over dose of dilantin.

Guarav now has a vegetative life as he has lost one eye and has partial vision in another due to the treatment at the All India Institute of Medical Science (AIIMS) and many of his vital organs are not functioning properly, said advocate D K Garg.

Gross medical mistake and negligence of doctors are made out from the facts that patient at the time of admission did not suffer from seizure and convulsions and he was not required to be administered 150 mg dilantin every day for such long period without the supervision of the doctors, alleged the petition.

On April 12, 1999, the District Consumer Forum at Faridabad had awarded a compensation of Rs 5 lakh with an interest of 18 per cent from the date of filing the compliant till the disbursement of the money.

The District Forum had held that the disease named Steven Johnson’s Syndrom was dilantin induced and led to ulceration in both eyes after they went through the reports of both Dr Rajendra Prasad Centre for Ophthalmic Sciences, All India Institute of Medical Science and Dr Manoj Shukla of Gandhi Hospital at Aligarh.