Bangladesh – 22nd October, 2018: The High Court (HC) yesterday ordered a hospital and its medicine supplier to pay as compensation Tk. 10 lakh to each of 17 people who have lost their eyesight after their treatment went horribly wrong in March 2018.
The HC bench of Justice FRM Nazmul Ahasan and Justice KM Kamrul Kader directed Impact Masudul Haque Memorial Hospital and Irish Company, which had supplied the unregistered substandard medicine to the hospital during the operations, to pay the money to the victims' families. According to the HC order, Impact Masudul Haque Memorial Hospital and Irish Company have to pay Tk. 5 lakh each to every victim.
The HC bench came up with the order after disposing of a rule issued in this regard. "It also ordered the Impact authorities to arrange lifelong treatment for the victims,” advocate Amit Dasgupta, who moved a writ in this regard, told reporters after the HC order.
The HC bench also formed a seven-member committee, headed by the additional secretary to the health and family welfare ministry, to monitor such cases of medical negligence in future.
Advocate Dasgupta filed the writ with the HC following a report published in a national daily stating that 20 people had lost their eyesight following a surgery at a three-day eye camp.
Following the writ petition, the HC bench on April 1 issued a rule asking the authorities concerned to explain why Tk. 1
crore compensation would not be given to each of the 17 people who have lost their eyesight after surgery at Impact Memorial Community Health Centre in Chuadanga on March 5.
The HC bench also asked the authorities concerned to take legal action against the health centre and the physicians concerned for their negligence in conducting unsafe eye operations.
On March 5, a total of 24 patients underwent cataract operations at the hospital and all the patients were released a day after the surgery. But a few hours later, 20 of them felt severe pain in their eyes due to infection. Sensing danger, the hospital authorities secretly took them to Islamia Eye Hospital and Vision Eye Hospital in Dhaka.
Later, each of the 20 patients had to settle for a surgery and their infected eyes were removed.
Source: http://www.theindependentbd.com/post/171456