Doctor to pay Rs 35 lakh for putting plaster on fractured leg instead of surgery

“If a medical practitioner falls short of following the standard medical protocol which is expected of an ordinary prudent doctor, a clear case of medical negligence is made out. Albeit, though the medical practitioner is not required to possess the highest level of expertise, yet he is expected to adhere to the reasonable standard of care, which in the instant case, the doctor has evidently failed to do,” the order added.

Woman’s claims

The woman had suffered the fracture after a fall at home on February 2, 2014. The husband rushed her to a nursing home, where the doctor advised her to get an X-ray and temporarily plastered the fractured portion of the leg.

On the next day, the doctor asked her for a second X-ray, and on the basis of the result he ruled out any surgical intervention. The finding showed that the bones of the fractured portion had perfectly matched and advised the patient to visit his clinic for a follow-up after 9-10 days.

On February 14, 2014, however, the doctor applied a permanent plaster replacing the previous temporary one and advised her to follow up against on February 27, the same year. Case details showed that the woman was in constant pain for which she was taking painkillers and calcium tablets. Still, the the medicines didn’t help in giving her relief.

The woman claimed that her treating doctor would assure that a surgery was not required and the fractured portion would take about 8 to 10 months to heal completely. On April 6, 2015, the doctor advised the woman to take a further opinion from any government hospital, she added.

On two separates dates, April 29 and May 22, 2015, the woman and her husband, went to Lok Nayak Hospital, where the doctors concluded that the bones of the fractured portion of her leg were “totally damaged”. Alleging deficiency in service, the woman eventually filed a consumer complaint against the first doctor.

Complainant’s argument v. Defense’s stand

Advocates Shilpa Verma and Shyam Kumar argued that a government doctor initially advised immediate surgery for the woman’s fractured joint. They claimed that the first doctor’s negligence ultimately caused her to suffer permanent joint damage.

Advocate Shreshtha Kumar maintained that the doctor followed standard medical protocols throughout the treatment. He pointed out that the woman filed her consumer complaint without presenting expert medical opinions, scientific backing, or specific proof of negligence. He stressed that ankle fractures can be managed through either non-surgical or surgical methods and carry inherent risks. Consequently, it was stated that the doctor should not be held liable for negligence simply because a known medical complication occurred.

Medical opinion sought

The state consumer commission sought expert opinion from Safdarjang Hospital, New Delhi following which a medical board opined that the standard medical protocol in such cases was “definitive operative fixation” or a surgical intervention. It underlined the sensitivity of time in such cases which required “immediate surgical assistance” to avoid “permanent damage to the fracture site”.

The doctor was held to have failed to produce any prescription or tests advised to the woman for re-evaluation of the fracture as part of the routine standard protocol. Therefore, the commission held that the conduct of the doctor “patently fell below the accepted standard of care which squarely falls within the domain of medical negligence”.

The commission, therefore, ordered Rs 30 lakh compensation and an additional sum of Rs 5 lakh to the woman as the cost of a “protracted litigation” of over 10 years.

Takeaway

The ruling establishes the obligation of doctors to ensure proper treatment of patients and that the concerns of the consumers must not be ignored, causing them unnecessary inconvenience. For consumer-related grievances, individuals may contact the consumer helpline in their respective states and union territories or call the National Consumer Helpline at 1915 for assistance.

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