Delhi State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission has reviewed the compensation amount granted to a woman, whose mother died due to medical negligence on the part of a city-based hospital five times.

Member Anil Srivastava, said that it would be fair and reasonable to award compensation of Rs 10 lakh to the complainant for the suffering, mental pain and agony caused as against the compensation of Rs 2 lakh awarded.

The judgment was sought to bring about a “qualitative change in the attitude of hospitals to provide service to human beings as human beings”.

The complainant daughter, Rajani Ranga, alleged that after too much delay her mother was administered an injection but immediately she experienced a burning sensation and unbearable pain in her left hand. Her ailing mother was brought to Dr Baba Saheb Ambedkar Hospital on April 16, 2007, for treatment. However, the doctors paid no attention to the patient despite repeated requests.

She also said that when the hospital could not treat her mother of her worsening state, then she was referred to RML or AIIMS. The patient was taken to Sir Ganga Ram Hospital where she was treated but could not survive. The complaint alleged medical negligence on the hospital’s part.

A district forum has awarded Rs 2 lakh on the complaint holding the hospital negligent on the medical ground that there was a delay on the part of doctors concerned to attend the patient.The forum also added that there was failure on the part of the hospital in administering treatment after observing the complication due to injection. The order was challenged before Srivastava by both parties, of whom the hospital sought its dismissal and Rangaalso sought enhancement of the compensation.

The daughter has sought Rs 50 lakh as compensation before the forum. Depending on various Supreme Court and National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission judgments, the state commission said the consumer bodies have authority to award compensation “depending upon established facts and circumstances of the case”.

The SC judgment read: “It is not merely the alleged harm or mental pain, agony or physically discomfort, loss of salary and emoluments, etc., suffered by the complainant which is in issue — it is also the quality of conduct committed by the respondents upon which attention is required to be founded in a case of proven medical negligence.”