A District Consumer Court has ordered a surgeon to pay Rs. 2 lakhs in compensation to a woman regarding his negligence, carelessness and violating the code of conduct. The Doctor didn’t follow the ‘standard norms of practice’ for which the lady patient had to suffer for over two years. A woman underwent a surgery and later was found with a foreign body (an object). The operation was conducted nine years ago.

The patient Srabani Deb had enough evidence to prove it. She was admitted to a nursing home on January 7, 2006, with a problem in her abdomen and was discharged on January 12, 2006. She was treated with laparoscopic cholecystectomy. Soon after getting discharged, she experienced a severe stomach pain and revisited the Doctor after ten days. The Surgeon Pratap Sanyal  advised her to take milk magnesia.

The advice of the Doctor did not effect on victim’s stomach pain. As the stomach pain persisted, she visited another doctor who advised her to undergo CT scan. In the result of the scan reports, it was found that the previous doctor had left a foreign body (eight-inch long corrugated drain pipe) in her right lower abdominal wall. She underwent a second surgery in the nursing home n Kolkata on October 30, 2007, to get the object removed.

Due to negligence and carelessness of Pratap Sanyal, the victim had to suffer for over two years. The victim filed a case in the court after her second surgery. “The President of West Tripura District Consumer Disputes Redressal forum on Friday slapped a fine of Rs. 2,00,000 to senior surgeon Pratap Sanyal for negligence in surgery in a private nursing home in January 2006,” lawyer Sujata Deb Gupta said.

“Rs. 1 lakh as compensation towards medical expenses for undergoing the second surgery in Kolkata, Rs 50,000 for the mental agony caused to the patient and another Rs 50,000 as the cost of litigation. The fine should be cleared within 45 days of the judgment and if failed then the interest of 9 percent per annum will be charged,” the lawyer said.