The Thane district consumer forum has awarded the 30-year-old resident of Kalyan a compensation of over Rs 15 lakh in a medical negligence case
Heena Mustaqeem Khan
Two years after her narrow escape from death, Heena Mustaqeem Khan finally has a reason to smile. The Thane district consumer forum has awarded the 30-year-old resident of Kalyan a compensation of over Rs 15 lakh in a medical negligence case.
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The legal fraternity has termed the verdict a rarity since not only has it come within just two years of the complaint being filed — cases of medical negligence often drag on for at least four years — but also because of the handsome compensation.
Khan visited her family physician, Dr Satish Bhoite, in Kalyan with symptoms of cough and cold on November 22, 2014, but he was unavailable. In his absence, the doctor's wife, ayurveda practitioner, called him up, conveyed Khan’s symptoms over the phone and on the doctor's orders, administered two drugs to her. Soon after, Khan developed a reaction to the medication and her body broke into rashes and blisters. In three days, 30 per cent of her skin peeled off and the cornea of her left eye melted.
Khan was rushed to Saifee Hospital, where she was diagnosed with a rare, life-threatening skin condition: Stevens-Johnson Syndrome, a form of toxic epidermal necrolysis in which cell death causes the epidermis to separate from the dermis. She spent 34 days in the ICU and ran up bills of over Rs 5 lakh for her treatment. A police complaint was filed against Dr Bhoite on November 29 that year. On December 22, the case reached the doors of the consumer court in Thane. Khan was represented by advocate AB Jahagirdar in the forum.
On December 22 last year, the court held Dr Bhoite guilty of medical negligence. He has been asked to pay a compensation of Rs 15 lakh. Dr Bhoite said, "I don’t know anything about a case in the consumer court."
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