Medical Negligence : Supreme Court Dismisses Appeal Of Doctor Held Liable For Surgery On Wrong Leg

The Supreme Court on December 2 dismissed an appeal filed by a doctor challenging an order of the National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission holding him liable for medical negligence for conducting the surgery on the wrong foot of a patient.

A bench comprising Justice PS Narasimha and Manoj Misra dismissed an appeal filed by Dr Rahul Kakran, who worked as an Orthopaedic Surgeon at the Fortis Hospital in 2016.

The consumer complaint was based on the allegation that the surgery was performed on the patient's left leg instead of his injured right leg.

In June 2024, the NCDRC awarded the patient (named Ravi Rai) a total compensation of Rs 1.10 crores, out of which the hospital was asked to pay Rs 90 lakhs and two doctors(including the surgeon) were to pay Rs.10 lakhs each.

The surgeon claimed that an injury was found in the left leg of the patient as well in the operation room and he was advised to take the surgical treatment for which the patient gave an oral consent. The NCDRC found that there was gross medical negligence after noting that all the pre-surgery tests (X-Ray, scan etc) were taken for the right leg and the consent was taken for the right leg.

"The Complainant appears to have virtually escaped from the Hospital and ran for his life on account of this mess having been created by the Opposite Parties in proceeding to perform a surgery of the left leg when the surgery was planned to rectify and treat the fracture of the right leg," the Commission observed in the order. The patient later got himself admitted to another hospital for the surgery. The Commission also found that the protocol regarding consent was not followed before operating upon the left leg.

On December 2, the Supreme Court affirmed the findings of the NCDRC by rejecting the surgeon's appeal. "Having considered the matter in detail, we are of the opinion that the National Consumers Disputes Redressal Commission, New Delhi has not committed any error in law or fact. In this view of the matter, the Civil Appeal is dismissed," the bench observed.

The patient Ravi Rai was represented by Mr. Saurabh Mishra, Sr. Adv., Mr. Abhinav Shrivastava, AOR, Mr. Shivang Rawat, Adv.

Senior Advocate Ranji Thomas appeared for the appellant.

Case : Rahul Kakran v. Ravi Rai |  C.A 13659/2024

Click here to read the order