This is an archive article published on April 26, 2024
‘Totally wrong, illegal line of treatment’: Safdarjung Hospital asked to pay Rs 25 lakh to patient’s widow
Earlier, a state consumer commission had granted Asha Goyal, the wife of the deceased, Rs 25 lakh noting that it was “shocking” that the injection wasn't available in a “big hospital like Safdarjung”.
Noting that the hospital had adopted a “totally wrong and illegal line of medical treatment”, the National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (NCDRC) recently directed Safdarjung Hospital to pay over 25 lakh in compensation to the wife of a man, suffering from a lower respiratory tract infection, leaking heart valves and left ventricular failure, who died at the hospital during treatment in 2017.
In doing so, the national commission upheld an order of a state commission directing the hospital to provide the same amount to the woman.
The NCDRC, in its order on April 12, noted that the standard medical protocol required administering an “essential” injection called Nirmin, which was not available at the hospital, and that there was no evidence that the alternative Albumin injection given to the patient was the right injection.
Nirmin is a drug which is used to treat heart failures, among many other things.
Earlier, a state consumer commission had granted Asha Goyal, the wife of the deceased, Rs 25 lakh noting that it was “shocking” that the injection wasn’t available in a “big hospital like Safdarjung”.
Goyal also submitted that her husband was administered Albumin injection without informing the attendant or other family members.
“It is shocking that injection Nirmin was not available in a big hospital like Safdarjung Hospital in Delhi. There is no reason why said injection was not available in the hospital. There is nothing to show that since when the said injection was not available in the hospital and what
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efforts were done by the hospital to procure that injection,” the state consumer commission had earlier noted.
The hospital then moved the national consumers’ body, challenging the state commission’s order on the grounds that it had failed to obtain an independent expert opinion in the absence of any proof to establish that the treatment provided to the patient was contrary to the medical protocol.
The hospital also submitted that the patient’s heart was working at only 1/6th capacity and that only half of the patients with his condition survived for over five years, with cardiac deaths being “very common” among them.
Siding with the complainant, the national commission held that the hospital had adopted a “totally wrong and illegal line of medical treatment”.
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The commission also noted that no details of tests of the deceased patient were brought on record to prove that he was suffering from multiple medical issues as alleged by the hospital.
Nirbhay Thakur is a Senior Correspondent with The Indian Express who primarily covers district courts in Delhi and has reported on the trials of many high-profile cases since 2023.
Professional Background
Education: Nirbhay is an economics graduate from Delhi University.
Beats: His reporting spans the trial courts, and he occasionally interviews ambassadors and has a keen interest in doing data stories.
Specializations: He has a specific interest in data stories related to courts.
Core Strength: Nirbhay is known for tracking long-running legal sagas and providing meticulous updates on high-profile criminal trials.
Recent notable articles
In 2025, he has written long form articles and two investigations. Along with breaking many court stories, he has also done various exclusive stories.
1) A long form on Surender Koli, accused in the Nithari serial killings of 2006. He was acquitted after spending 2 decades in jail. was a branded man. Deemed the “cannibal" who allegedly lured children to his employer’s house in Noida, murdered them, and “ate their flesh” – his actions cited were cited as evidence of human depravity at its worst. However, the SC acquitted him finding various lapses in the investigation. The Indian Express spoke to his lawyers and traced the 2 decades journey.
2) For decades, the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) has been at the forefront of the Government’s national rankings, placed at No. 2 over the past two years alone. It has also been the crucible of campus activism, its protests often spilling into national debates, its student leaders going on to become the faces and voices of political parties of all hues and thoughts. The Indian Express looked at all court cases spanning over two decades and did an investigation.
3) Investigation on the 700 Delhi riots cases. The Indian Express found that in 17 of 93 acquittals (which amounted to 85% of the decided cases) in Delhi riots cases, courts red-flag ‘fabricated’ evidence and pulled up the police.
Signature Style
Nirbhay’s writing is characterized by its procedural depth. He excels at summarizing 400-page chargesheets and complex court orders into digestible news for the general public.
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