Fingers lost due to negligent treatment, IBHAS to pay Rs 5L

The Institute of Human Behaviour and Allied Sciences (IBHAS) here has been directed by the Delhi state consumer commission to pay Rs five lakh to a girl whose four fingers had to be amputated due to "negligent" administration of an injection.

The state commission relied upon the statements given by two surgeons from Safdarjung Hospital and GTB Hospital, Delhi to hold that the concerned doctors of IBHAS had "negligently" given the injection in an artery which led to swelling of the girl's arm and amputation of the fingers.

It also noted that the life of the then 17-year-old girl, who was also a promising national level judo player, has been "spoiled" as a result.

"The allegations of complainant (girls' mother) and her daughter find full and reliable support from two surgeons of Safdarjung and GTB Hospitals, Delhi.

We come to the conclusion that injection given in IBHAS was negligently given in artery and therefore swelling and other phenomena developed in the left hand fore-arm and fingers, and ultimately led to amputation of four fingers," a bench presided Justice Barkat Ali Zaidi said.

The bench observed that "she was a young girl of 17 years of age. She was a student of B.Com and was also a Judo player having won many national awards. She certainly had a bright future. Since four fingers of her left hand were amputated, her future was spoiled and she has to live rest of her life as a permanently disabled person" and directed IBHAS to pay Rs five lakh as compensation to the girl.

The order came on the plea of the girl's mother Munni, a resident of Delhi, who had said her daughter was taken to IBHAS in July 2008 as she was suffering from fits and during treatment the doctors allegedly had negligently administered an injection into her left arm's artery which lead to swelling and four fingers of her hand had to be amputated.

IBHAS had denied the allegations and contended that the girl's arm was already swollen when she was brought there.The commission rejected the contention of IBHAS relying on the statements of the two surgeons from Safdarjung and GTB Hospitals here.

Earlier, in October 2012 on the plea of Munni, a sessions court had directed summoning of the concerned doctor of IBHAS to face trial for his alleged negligence in administering the injection to the girl.

The sessions judge had ordered summoning of Dr Brijesh of IBHAS as accused for causing grievous hurt by his negligent act and endangering the life of the patient.

The judge had passed the direction while setting aside a magisterial court's order which had said there was not enough concrete evidence to summon the accused in the case.