KALPETTA: The family of a leukemia patient who died due to lapses on the part of the doctor received compensation after 19 years of legal fight. The health department collected a compensation of Rs 1.75 lakh from Kozhikode-based Dr P M Kutty and handed it over to the family.
It was a moment of victory for Mini Ganesh who decided to fight till her last breath for justice for her daughter. However, delayed justice points to the inefficiency of the system. Six-and-a-half-year-old Anjali, a native of Kaniyambetta, Wayanad, died on September 21, 2003.
The treatment for leukemia started at the Kozhikode Medical College Hospital in 1996. The doctor assured the parents that the disease had been cured completely. In 2002, the girl’s vision began to fade. The doctor treated it as migraine. When the child’s eyesight severely diminished, it was found that the symptoms were caused by cancer.
The tests conducted in hospitals in Coimbatore and Bengaluru confirmed that the disease had spread to the extent that Anjali could not even undergo chemotherapy. Mini then filed a complaint with the commission. Justice V P Mohankumar, who was a panel member, confirmed lapses on the part of Dr Kutty of Kozhikode MCH. In 2008, the commission ordered him to pay the damages to Anjali’s family.
Though Kutty moved the HC against this, his appeal was dismissed in June 2021. Mini again approached the HRC due to non-payment of compensation. Then on November 22, 2021, Commission judicial member K Byjunath issued an order to the chief secretary to release the amount as soon as possible and the health department took up further procedures.
Mini said: “we have been fighting for the past 14 years. We are happy that we finally got justice for our daughter. However, the delay in the process had been a harrowing one for us all these years.”Though the government implemented the commission’s order, the compensation amount doesn’t include the interest rate. “The order issued by the panel in 2008 did not mention the interest rate. If the petitioner wants interest, they have to file another complaint,” said Byjunath.