TEAM HERALD
teamherald@herald-goa.com
PANJIM: In a landmark ruling in favour of a Verna couple, who fought relentlessly against medical negligence, which allegedly led to the death of their daughter Ravina Rodrigues, the Goa State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission has directed a panel of three doctors and a private hospital to pay them Rs 19.10 lakh as compensation.
Michael Rodrigues and his wife Gloria had filed a complaint with the forum alleging that Dr Shantaram Surme, Dr Shridhar Raghuvir and Dr Dilip Amonkar as well as the private hospital at Vaddem were responsible for their daughter’s death in 2010.
From the total compensation, Rs 1 lakh is directed to be paid towards reimbursement of the bills for the 17-year-old’s treatment in the hospitals (the private hospital and Goa Medical College).
“Compensation ordered to be paid to the complainants within a period of 30 days failing which the same shall carry interest at the rate of nine percent thereafter until it is paid. Compensation to be paid by the OP doctors jointly and severally,” the bench of President Justice N A Britto and member Vidhya Gurav, ordered.
On June 20, 2010, the student was taken to a clinic with complaint of abdominal pain for which she was prescribed medicines for five days to control infection, inflammation and pain. The records revealed that since her pain continued, she was once again taken to the clinic but was advised to continue the medicines until July 2, 2010 when she was finally admitted to the private hospital and operated. She was discharged on July 5, 2010 but readmitted to the same hospital on July 9, 2010 and subsequently shifted to GMC on July 10, 2010 with severe abdominal pain.
An ultra sound on the girl had revealed free fluid in the peritoneal cavity, due to which the patient had to be immediately operated. She died on July 29, 2010 after being admitted in the Intensive Care Unit of GMC due to breathlessness. “(On July 11, 2010) She was shifted to female surgery ward no 106. She has fever of 101 degree Celsius and has jaundice and facial puffiness…. (On July 15, 2010) Ravina is shifted to ICU in the evening to be put on ventilator…” an extract from the consumer court order read. According to a GMC doctor, “Her stay in ICU remained critical, despite intensively monitoring her round the clock.”
Ravina death was extensively covered in the media as citizens had hit the streets demanding action against the errant doctors for medical negligence. The State government-formed committee of doctors to probe the alleged medical negligence recommended disciplinary action and criminal investigation against the doctors for gross negligence.
While passing the verdict and after referring to case papers, the bench observed, “Probabilities of the case clearly suggest that it is the cyst – corpus luteum cyst – which was mimicking the appendicitis in Ravina. If differential diagnosis was done and clinical diagnosis was confirmed by appropriate tests, prior to July 3, 2010, the appendicitis could have been cured and the cyst could have been treated or excised, and its rupture could have been avoided.”
The Commission observed that if differential diagnosis had been done and clinical diagnosis had been confirmed by appropriate tests, prior to July 3, 2010, the appendicitis could have been cured and the cyst could have been treated or excised
