NCDRC dismisses case filed by wife, children of former CJI JS Verma alleging medical negligence led to his death

The National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (NCDRC) on Monday dismissed a medical negligence case filed by wife and children of former Chief Justice of India (CJI) JS Verma alleging that medical negligence had led to the death of the former CJI. [Pushpa Verma and 2 others v. Bhardwaj Nursing and Maternity Home Private Limited and 9 others].A bench of Dr. SM Kantikar (presiding member), Justice (retired) Ram Surat Ram Maurya (judicial member), and Dr. Inder Jit Singh (technical member) concluded that there was no medical negligence on the part of the Bhardwaj Hospital, Fortis Escorts Institute, and the Medanta Hospital or the doctors including Sanjiv Bharadwaj, VA Bharadwaj, Piyush Jain, Naresh Trehan, and Randhir Sud, who treated CJI Verma prior to his death.. “In the instant case, the standard medical protocols being followed by the all opposite parties, it was neither failure of duty of care nor any deficiency from the Ops … The death of Justice J.S.Verma was not attributable to the act of OPs. We have deep sympathies with the death of Justice JS Verma, but it cannot be ground for liability. The Complaint fails, it is dismissed,” the NCDRC ruled..CJI Verma passed away in April 2013 due to multi-organ failure, at the age of 80 years, months after a 3-member panel headed by him submitted a report proposing amendments to criminal law in the wake of the Nirbhaya gangrape case of 2012.He retired from the post of CJI in 1998, following which he worked as the Chairman of the National Human Rights Commission from 1999 to 2003..Following CJI Verma’s death, his wife and children accused the hospitals and doctors who treated him between November 2012 and 2013 of medical negligence. .CJI Verma’s wife and two children (complainants) had submitted that while the former judge had been diagnosed with coronary heart disease in 1998, the same was earlier being managed through a healthy lifestyle, regular medical check-ups, diet, and exercise..Among other allegations, the complainants highlighted the following incidents between 2012 and 2013 as indicative of medical negligence on the part of the accused doctors and hospitals:Prescription of tablet Dabigartan (Pradaxa) with a combination of Clopidogrel and Amiodarone and other medicines, without considering that CJI Verma’s test results indicated abnormal liver function and impaired blood clotting;Failure to conduct appropriate tests;Delay in conducting endoscopy at Medanta Hospital despite continuous bleeding;Multiple transfusions at Fortis Escorts which caused fluid overload in the lungs and resulted in acute breathing problems;Poor attempts to correct the hypocalcemia (low levels of calcium in the blood), failure to intubate on arrival, etc. at Medanta Hospital, etc.After an analysis detailed at length in its order, the NCDRC concluded that none of the accused were guilty of medical negligence. .Among other findings, the NCDRC concluded that the prescription of Dabigartan was not a wrong decision."It was in the interest of the patient to save him from the cerebral stroke … From the documented literature and the text books on Cardiology, Internal Medicines and Pharmacology, the drug Dabigartan is metabolized in Kidney, therefore, as far as there is no severe liver impairment, it can be given in full dose ... Dabigartan is a very safe drug,” the order stated..The Commission further observed that Dabigartan was given in the lowest dose and that there was no interaction between the said drug with the other medicines named, that is, Amiodarone and Clopidogrel..The NCDRC also noted that the Delhi Medical Council (DCM) and the Medical Council of India (MCI) had, in 2014, concluded that there was no negligence on the part of the doctors at any stage..“To bring successful claim the victim or victim’s family bringing the action must prove all the “four D’s” against the erring doctor/hospital. The 4 D’s of medical negligence stand for ‘Duty’ , ‘Dereliction/Deviation’ , ‘Direct (proximate) Cause’ and ‘Damages’. In the instant case the complainant’s failed to prove the dereliction of duty of care from the OPs and the same was not a proximate cause of death of Justice J.S. Verma,” the NCDRC went on to hold..Referring to Supreme Court judgments, the Commission also reiterated that a medical practitioner is not liable simply because things went wrong from mischance, misadventure, or an error of judgment in preferring one reasonable course of treatment over another, as long as the doctor attends to a patient with due care, skill, and diligence..Hence, the NCDRC dismissed the complaint. .[Read Order]