BENGALURU: Accepting the request of a man who approached the court seeking justice for the death of his father due to alleged negligence of doctors at two private hospitals in the city, the Karnataka High Court directed the Annapurneshwari Nagar police to register a First Information Report (FIR).
Justice M Nagaprasanna passed the order while allowing the petition filed by Vikas M Dev of Nagarabhavi, seeking directions to the city police to register the complaint, which was not done when he approached the police immediately after his father’s death.
“When the sanctity of medical care is breached by alleged negligence, it is not merely a lapse of procedure, but a desecration of the dignity inherent in human life,” the court said.
In his plea, Vikram sought directions to the city police to conduct a preliminary inquiry into the complaints dated June 18 and 26, 2024, and call for a medical report from an expert body on alleged medical negligence.
According to Vikram, his father, M C Mahadeva, was suffering from chronic kidney disease. For dialysis, a doctor of a private hospital inserted an HD catheter on February 19, 2024. The same doctor suggested removing it on March 29, saying that it may lead to complications in the long run and suggested the insertion of a perma catheter which is permanent.
On April 4, the surgery to insert the perma catheter, which was supposed to last about 30 minutes, was said to have taken 4 hours. Consent was given by Vikram for insertion on the right side, but the procedure was done on the left side and this change was never intimated to him.
Post-surgery, his father suffered excruciating pain and discomfort. It was found that there was no blood back-flow through the catheter. He was immediately shifted to another private hospital for the corrective procedure on April 5 where he was again operated on. But his condition deteriorated and he suffered cardiac arrest on April 15.
Alleging that he lost his father on account of negligence of doctors of both the private hospitals, Vikram approached the police for registration of crime, but it was rejected by rendering a non-cognisable report while sending him to approach the Karnataka Medical Council.