A young man was severely injured and suffered a major head injury in a car accident. Local cops rushed him to a hospital where preliminary tests were conducted. He was eventually transferred to another hospital.
The patient remained in a critical condition for ten days. Despite best efforts by a team of doctors, the young man lost his life on the eleventh day.
His parents sued the hospital. They levelled several allegations. The hospital was not equipped to handle head injuries and neurosurgery. Their son was put on ventilator without consent despite the fact that Glasgow Coma Score (GCS) score was 9.
It was further alleged that although Mannitol was ordered to be stopped, the hospital staff administered an overdose of it, leading to cardiac arrest and untimely death of the young patient.
The hospital authorities denied these allegations. It was stated that the patient’s parents acted against the advice of first hospital and sought DAMA and admitted the patient to their hospital. The patient remained admitted at the first hospital for five hours, losing precious ‘golden hour’ for appropriate treatment.
The Commission perused medical records and observed:
“Admittedly the patient was severely injured in a road accident. Investigations revealed subarachnoid and subdural haemorrhage. There was cerebral edema which further caused increased intracranial pressure. Based on the CT scan and clinical findings, the neurosurgeon advised Mannitol infusion in correct doses”.
“Patient’s parents have complained that ET was unnecessarily kept though the GCS was good or above 7. In our view, the patient was under observation in ICU and on ventilator, therefore, the treating doctor had to take an appropriate decision based on his condition. Though the ventilator was removed, the ET was kept to maintain the oxygen supply and to avoid aspiration”.
“With respect to consent, the parents have complained that the treating doctors did not take consent for invasive procedures like use of ventilator, central venous line and Ryles tube insertion. The patient was in emergency and the initial consent is sufficient during emergency”.
The Commission held that the hospital and its team of doctors were not negligent in treating the patient.
Source : Order pronounced by National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission on 1st December, 2022.