Indian News

Cancer survivor fined for allegations against doctor

Source: , Posted On:   07 January 2021

SURAT: A consumer court in Navsari district penalised a petitioner for making false allegations against a doctor who treated him for mouth cancer and the pathology laboratory which conducted the biopsy that led to the detection of the deadly disease.
The Navsari Consumer Dispute Redressal Commission directed the complainant Rakesh Trivedi (37), a resident of Mandvi town of Surat district, to pay Rs 20,000 to Pooja Laboratory for dragging it into the case as a party and damaging its reputation. The court also rejected Trivedi’s claim against Dr Parimal Lad owner of Yesha Super Speciality Hospital, for charging more for his surgery and hospitalisation.
According to case details, Trivedi had approached Dr Lad in June 2016 following swelling on his tongue. The doctor took a sample from tongue and sent it for biopsy to Pooja Laboratory which confirmed the presence of cancerous cells.
Dr Lad advised immediate surgery, but Trivedi needed time to arrange for the money of the surgery. However, Dr Lad told Trivedi to pay money later and explained him the expenditure for surgery and hospitalisation. Trivedi agreed and got admitted to the hospital where the surgery was performed. The doctors also found cancerous cells in some portion of Trivedi’s neck, which was also removed along with those on the tongue.
At the time of discharge, the hospital issued a bill of Rs 1.14 lakh for the treatment and also charged Rs 18,795 for the medicines. Trivedi claimed that he was being overcharged and alleged that he had given consent for surgery on his tongue, but the doctor removed a portion from his neck as well. He then approached the consumer court and claimed that he had suffered permanent disability on his right hand after the surgery.
Trivedi also claimed that despite paying Rs 1,000 for biopsy, Pooja Laboratory did not give him the report and made Dr Narayani Bhatt, owner of the laboratory, a party to the litigation.
Trivedi demanded Rs 3 lakh from hospital claiming medical negligence and Rs 1 lakh for his permanent disability. He demanded Rs 25,000 from Pooja Laboratory for not providing him with the biopsy report.
Dr Lad’s advocated argued that the cancerous portion from the neck was removed to save Trivedi’s life.
“The complainant had taken advantage of the doctor’s humanity and also has failed to prove that his permanent disability was caused because of surgery,” the court observed while rejecting Trivedi’s claim.

 

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