Failure to produce RT-PCR test result before flight: Bengaluru consumer forum directs Apollo Hospitals to pay compensation

The Bengaluru (Urban) District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission recently imposed a penalty of ₹14,750 on Apollo Hospitals for failing to provide an RT-PCR test report on time to a person who was to board an international flight. [Rajashri L v. The Apollo Hospitals].President M Shobha and member K Anita Shivakumar observed,"It's obviously deficiency of service on the part of OP. Even after collecting money of Rs.750/- towards the test and its report, OP did not provide the required RTPCR report well within the time and also neglected to respond to the complainant and her son when he was about to board the flight.".The complainant alleged that she booked the RT-PCR test for her son on December 26, 2021 on payment of ₹750. She informed Apollo that her son was to board an international flight at 1:30 AM on December 27, 2021.Accordingly, a representative of the hospital visited the complainant's house to collect her son's swab sample for the RT-PCR test. He assured the complainant that the result would be produced by 6PM on the same day. He said that in the event the result is not produced on time, a full refund would be made.When the result was not produced by 6PM, the complainant called Apollo. The hospital informed the complainant that the result was ready and only the act of uploading it was pending. It assured the complainant that the same would be done by 10PM on that day itself..By the time the complainant's son reached the airport, he had not received the test result. He called the hospital's customer care number, but his call was not answered. This compelled him to take an RT-PCR test at the airport for ₹3,000.Later, when the complainant raised the same issue with customer care, she was allegedly spoken to rudely and her issue remained unresolved. Her subsequent email and legal notice were also not responded to.Therefore, the complainant approached the Commission seeking ₹2 lakh compensation for deficiency of service and ₹1 lakh for the mental agony suffered by her and her family. She also sought ₹50,000 towards litigation expenses..The Commission noted that the result was sent by the hospital only on 4:07 AM on December 27, 2021, after the flight had departed.It said that in light of government guidelines at the time mandating RT-PCR tests done within 24 hours of departure for air travelers, the complainant and her son might have undergone mental trauma by placing faith in Apollo.It also noted that the documents produced by the complainant were unchallenged as Apollo's representatives did not appear before the Commission.Hence, it concluded that the deficiency in service was apparent..Accordingly, it directed the hospital to pay ₹3,750 to the complainant towards the money spent for the tests. It further directed the hospital to pay ₹6,000 to the complainant as compensation towards the mental agony, inconvenience and deficiency in service suffered by her and her family. Additionally, it directed the hospital to pay ₹5,000 towards cost of litigation..The complainant was represented by Advocate Rakshith KS..[Read Order]