Delhi HC Orders Govt To Pay Minor ₹3 Lakh For Vision Loss At Public Hospital

The Delhi High Court has recently ordered the government to pay an ex-gratia payment of rupees three lakh to a two-year-old boy who lost his vision after being born prematurely at Guru Gobind Singh Government Hospital.

“This Court observes that the newly born child has become blind due to a variety of unfortunate circumstances,” the court stated.

The minor was born prematurely on June 28, 2020, at the 29th week of gestation. However, he became entirely blind because the Retinopathy of Prematurity (ROP) screening, which was supposed to be performed within four weeks of his birth, was not completed on time, according to his family.

In a March 21 ruling, Justice Prathiba M Singh ordered the Delhi government to return the money to the child within six weeks.

However, the court noted that the directive to release the ex-gratia payment should not be interpreted as a view on the merits of the hospital’s or doctor’s behaviour.

“In the overall facts and circumstances of this case, taking a compassionate and empathetic view of the matter, as well as the fact that the petitioner (minor child’s father) had moved from one hospital to another in order to obtain the requisite treatment for the newly born child, Rs. 3 lakhs is awarded as ex-gratia costs/reimbursement of medical expenses to the petitioner,” the court stated.

Justice Singh was hearing a plea filed by a small kid’s father seeking compensation for the hospital’s alleged medical negligence. The minor requested Rs. 11 crore in compensation for the loss of vision and medical expenditures incurred at several hospitals in the plea filed through his father. A further Rs. one crore was demanded for mental harassment and physical and emotional suffering.

A Senior Resident Doctor from the hospital’s Department of Ophthalmology informed the court that after being notified of the child’s condition on July 27, 2020, all required efforts were made to perform his dilatation.

The court noticed that the youngster suffered various birth-related difficulties and also got Pneumonia while reviewing the records on file.

“During this time, the ophthalmic department has performed the necessary tests and taken the necessary steps. The youngster could not be discharged early due to various complications. The entire time span was during the pandemic,” it stated.

Furthermore, the ophthalmology department reported the child’s case to AIIMS on July 28, 2020, but the parents took him to AIIMS only in the first week of September.

Thus, the court observed that a finding of medical negligence cannot be made at this time, adding that it may necessitate a proper factual evaluation, which cannot be conducted in a writ petition.

“Cases claiming compensation for Medical Negligence necessitate the determination of disputed factual issues. The court stated that “the said determination should be made in appropriate jurisdiction rather than writ jurisdiction.”

While granting ex gratia costs as reimbursement for the child’s medical expenditures, the court provided the kid the right to pursue any legal remedies available to him.

“In these terms, the petition is dismissed. All pending applications, if any, are also disposed of,” the court stated.