Woman to get Rs 5 lakh compensation, 20 years after needle left in her body after surgery

A Bengaluru based woman has been awarded a compensation of Rs five lakh by a consumer forum, nearly 20 years after a 3.2 centimetre surgical needle was left in her body following her surgery at a private hospital here. The Karnataka State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission has directed the hospital and two doctors to pay Padmavathi, a resident of Jayanagar, Rs 50,000 as litigation expenses.

It has also directed New India Assurance Co Ltd, which had issued a policy covering the hospital expenses, to pay her Rs five lakh for "the professional and medical negligence caused."

The then 32-year-old woman underwent the surgery on September 29, 2004 at the Deepak Hospital, with the two doctors allegedly performing the hernia operation. On completion of the surgery, her appendix was also removed, according to the Commission's order last month.

Immediately, on the next day, she complained of severe pain for which she was prescribed some pain killers and assured that it is post surgery discomfort and that it will get cured.

She suffered acute stomach and back pain for several years and was also admitted in the same hospital twice later, the order noted.

Padmavathi later approached another private hospital here in 2010 and during a scan, it was noticed that some foreign body existed in the abdominal and back portion of her body and it was suggested to her to get it (surgical needle) removed. She then underwent surgery and the 3.2 cm surgical needle was removed following which she approached the consumer forum with a complaint the following year.

The forum noted that the complainant was aged about 32 years, when she underwent all these surgeries and removal of the surgical needle. "Definitely she suffered severe pain and inconvenience till removal of the surgical needle," the order stated.

Hence, she is entitled to get "global compensation" of Rs five lakh and the insurance company (New India Assurance Company Limited) is directed to pay the amount while the two doctors are liable to pay litigation expenses of Rs 50,000 to the complainant, it further added.