An eighty-two-year-old patient with severe heart disease was admitted with a life-threatening urinary tract infection. The treating doctor performed a necessary urological procedure to remove a blocked catheter and clear the infection. Unfortunately, the elderly patient developed severe post-operative sepsis and later died after being discharged against medical advice.
The patient’s daughter filed a medical negligence complaint, alleging the doctor operated without proper consent. She claimed the hospital obtained her signature under the guise of admission papers. She also alleged that a secondary procedure to insert a central line was performed despite her clear refusal.
However, the medical records told a different story. The patient’s granddaughter had signed the initial consent, and the son had signed a specific consent for the central line. Crucially, the family had torn up the patient’s files during a dispute at discharge.
The Consumer Court dismissed the complaint, ruling that proxy consent by accompanying adult relatives was legally valid in this situation. The court also observed that the family could not accuse the hospital of hiding records they themselves had destroyed.
MedLegal Safety Insights
Doctors must ensure consent forms are signed by accompanying adult relatives, clearly documenting the relationship, in all cases of incompetent patients. Obtaining separate written consents for separate procedures, such as central lines, helps protect against future legal disputes.
Further, detailed documentation of the patient family’s refusal to follow medical advice or any hostile behaviour proves as a vital defence in legal proceedings.
Source
Order pronounced by Punjab State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission on 13 January, 2026.
