The Supreme Court recently heard a case regarding a patient who died due to negligence by doctors in Nagarmal Modi Sewa Sadan Hospital. The court declined to interfere with the finding of the National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (NCDRC) that the doctors were negligent. The NCDRC had arrived at this conclusion after considering evidence and a report from AIIMS Hospital.
The doctors in question were covered by a policy issued by New India Assurance Co. Ltd. The patient's family filed a complaint seeking compensation for the death caused by negligence. The NCDRC held the hospital and the doctors responsible for the patient's death and directed them to pay compensation to the family.
The hospital appealed the decision to the Supreme Court, which declined to interfere with the finding of negligence. The court held that the insurance company covering the doctors was liable to reimburse the compensation to the extent of its liability under the policy, as opposed to the doctors themselves. The insurance company argued that the policy was issued in the name of the doctors and not the hospital, but the court distinguished this case from a previous one and held that the insurance company was still liable.
The Supreme Court upheld the finding of the National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (NCDRC) that the doctors working under the Nagarmal Modi Sewa Sadan Hospital were negligent, and declined to interfere in the matter. The NCDRC arrived at this conclusion after examining evidence and considering the report received from the AIIMS Hospital. Thus, the finding did not warrant any interference by the Supreme Court.
The issue of the insurer's liability in the payment of compensation to the family of the deceased was also discussed. Since the NCDRC held the doctors to be negligent, the Insurance Company that issued the policy to the doctors would have to reimburse the compensation to the extent of the liability under the Policy as against the doctors concerned. The Insurance Company relied on a previous judgment, but the Supreme Court distinguished the facts of that case from the present case. The doctors, in whose name the policy had been issued, were also held liable for negligence in addition to the hospital. Therefore, the Insurance Company is liable to reimburse the compensation to the complainant to the extent they had agreed under the Policy. The remaining amount is to be paid jointly and severally by the hospital and the concerned doctors. Accordingly, the Insurance Company has been directed to pay the compensation to the extent of its liability under the Policy.
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TAGS: negligence doctor insurance compensation liability policy Supreme Court NCDRC appellant hospital AIIMS Hospital complainant death patient evidence report Sheth M.L. Vaduwala Eye Hospital Vs. Oriental Insurance Co. Ltd.
