Woman to get Rs 5 lakh 20 years after needle left in her body

Bengaluru, NT Bureau: A Bengaluru based woman has been awarded a compensation of Rs five lakh by a consumer forum, nearly 20 years after a 3.2 centimetre surgical needle was left in her body following her surgery at a private hospital here.

The Karnataka State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission has directed the hospital and two doctors to pay Padmavathi, a resident of Jayanagar, Rs 50,000 as litigation expenses.

It has also directed New India Assurance Co Ltd, which had issued a policy covering the hospital expenses, to pay her Rs five lakh for "the professional and medical negligence caused."

The then 32-year-old woman underwent the surgery on September 29, 2004 at the Deepak Hospital, with the two doctors allegedly performing the hernia operation. On completion of the surgery, her appendix was also removed, according to the Commission's order last month.

Immediately, on the next day, she complained of severe pain for which she was prescribed some pain killers and assured that it is post surgery discomfort and that it will get cured. She suffered acute stomach and back pain for years and was also admitted in the same hospital twice later, the order noted.

Padmavathi later approached another private hospital e in 2010 and during a scan, it was noticed that some foreign body existed in the abdominal and back portion and it was suggested to her to get it (surgical needle) removed.