A 40-year-old BPCL employee, who was treated for malaria instead of the myocarditis (heart ailment), died after 9 years. The Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation Hospital and Chembur-based have been held guilty for negligence and instructed to pay compensation of Rs 27 lakh to his wife.

The state consumer commission said that it can be said that the doctors of the corporation hospital could not diagnose the illness of the complainant’s husband and, however doctors at Sushrut Hospital recognized the illness (myocarditis) but did not give proper medical treatment by getting a cardiologist in time.

The civic hospital and the private hospital with its doctor, administrator and medical superintendent, were asked to pay the compensation in equivalent parts to Sanpada-based Swati Sherkhane, wife of the deceased Datta Sherkhane. Swati told the commission that she had minor children and her husband’s death had taken a toll on their family.

The commission reprimanded the civic hospital for refusing to arrange an ambulance to transfer the patient to the private hospital after Swati took discharge against their advice. The family has to take him by taxi. Also, to the private hospital, the commission questioned why the treating doctor called for a cardiologist only the following day and not on the night the patient was admitted.

Swati did a petition to the Maharashtra State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission in 2011. She told the commission that Datta worked as a process technician in the refinery division of BPCL. On May 10, 2010, she took Datta to the civic hospital after he complained he was feeling uneasy and feverish. She said that they gave anti-malaria drugs and they returned to the hospital at 1.30 am after Datta developed chest pain, headache and nausea. Datta was admitted and tests were carried out. Swati alleged that despite the ECG showed critical cardiac abnormality, the doctors continued with the malaria treatment. Then she moved Datta to the Chembur hospital at 10.30 pm on May 11, 2010. She said even though her husband was suffering from heart disease, neither was a 2D ECHO test was conducted nor a cardiologist was summoned. The cardiologists were called only the following day when Datta’s condition had deteriorated. Further, they were not able to come and Datta died suffering a cardiac arrest the same afternoon.

The civic hospital resisted as nothing suspicious was found in the ECG and they continued with the antimalarial drug. The treating doctor, administrator and medical superintendent of the private hospital submitted that Datta died a natural death due to myocarditis and the necessary treatment was given to him.