You should first secure the records of all the treatment given to your mother and the record of her previous illness.
Treatment particulars right from the date of admission till her last breath in the hospital.
Have a second opinion from an expert doctor on this treatment and also about your mother's disease and th negligence by the hospital which treated her now. There is no denying fact that the human life is precious and the persons responsible for the medical negligence has to be properly punished.
Dr. Kunal Saha's case decided by Supreme court:
Dr Kunal Saha was a doctor in the United States and came to India with his wife, Anuradha, in April 1998. She
complained of fever and itching and was treated by Dr Sukumar Mukherjee and later at the AMRI hospital in
Kolkata. Her condition deteriorated and she was taken to the Breach Candy Hospital in Mumbai, where she
passed away in May 1998. It was established that the doctors and the hospital had been negligent. Kunal filed
for civil compensation of almost Rs.100 crores in the consumer court – National Consumer Dispute Redressal
Commission (NCDRC) – and after a 15 year legal battle was awarded Rs. Six crores plus interest by the
Supreme Court of India in October 2013.
It is difficult to define ‘just compensation,’ however, in Sarla Verma’s case
the Supreme Court discussed it.
with a lot of clarity and precision. However, it still is open to interpretation. It was observed:
“Compensation awarded does not become 'just compensation' merely because the Tribunal considers
it to be just…Just compensation is adequate compensation which is fair and equitable, on the facts and
circumstances of the case, to make good the loss suffered as a result of the wrong, as far as money can
do so, by applying the well settled principles relating to award of compensation. It is not intended to be
a bonanza, largesse or source of profit…Assessment of compensation though involving certain
hypothetical considerations, should nevertheless be objective. Justice and justness emanate from
equality in treatment, consistency and thoroughness in adjudication, and fairness and uniformity in the
decision making process and the decisions”
Medical negligence by doctors and hospitals, once established by the trial court, very well conveys that the
conduct of the medical professionals – doctors, hospital administration, other hospital staff, etc. – was not upto
the mark and hence, they must be held liable for deficiency in service, as entailed in the consumer law in India.12
What was the degree of this deficiency depends on the degree of negligence, which can either be slight, normal,
or gross. If the negligence was gross, it almost borders with intentional conduct which may be even penalised
under the criminal law of the country, however, under the civil law for award of compensation, the quantum has
to be determined by the consumer courts.
