Most indemnity insurance companies do not cover for unsatisfactory outcome from plastic surgery or hair transplant. But if consumer does file a law suit against surgeon for unsatisfied results, then what is the process involved, cost of the same (average) and also are settlements costly for this particular purpose in india.
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You can file complaint against surgeon before consumer forum for deficiency in service seek compensation and also litigation costs
2) it has to be proved that surgeon was negligent in performing the surgery
3) legal fees vary depending upon lawyer engaged by you
I was asking from surgeons perspective as to what is the process involved?
Dear sir/madam,
The case can be filed if the surgery was not done properly and the safety/ heath measures were not looked at par.
In case you are not satisfied with the results, it is advisable to consult the same surgeon or a different surgeon first to draw out the conclusion that what went wrong, was it the fault of the doctor or was it your body that did not accept the change etc., before filing a legal case against them.
If you are unsatisfied with the results of the surgery, you can move to the consumer court and file a case to seek redress. the cost of the case, depends upon the lawyer you will appoint and the settlement cost will be decided by the court or on how much you and the surgeon agrees upon after the settlement.
Surgeon should take the defence that he is qualified hair transplant or plastic surgeon has done number of operations for number of years , has published number of articles on the subject in prestigious journals
2) that surgery was done in operation theatre , proper hygenine was maintained , trained nurses were present during surgery ,
Emergency equipment for resuscitation such as emergency trolley, oxygen cylinder, ambulance bag, pulse and respiratory monitor, defibrillator, etc were available
3) you would have to engage lawyer to defend case
4) if complainant proves deficiency of service court would award compensation and ask you to refund money paid for surgery
1) You can sue the surgeon /hospital in consumer court for deficiency in service.
2) The costs involved depends upon whether or not you appoint a counsel (advocate) to represent you before the consumer court.
3) It's always better to appoint a counsel as you may not be versed with the nitty-gritties. I'm willing to handle your matter as your counsel.
4) You need to visit me for exhaustive consultation regarding this. I'm based in Mumbai /NaviMumbai just as you are, hence it shouldn't be much difficult for you to visit me for exhaustive consultation.
5) ९८२०८९७८८४. (Nine eight two zero eight nine seven eight eight four)
In a consumer court judgment in Raman Sangra Vs. Recover Hair Transplant hospital, Kakkar, the court has passed an order against the hospital in favor of the complainant to return the amount charged by the hospital for the deficiency in service along with compensation and litigation expenses, however the doctor who had carried out the hair transplantation surgery was absolved against the allegations.
However it made it clear that the as per terms and conditions, the plastic surgery or hair transplant are not payable by the insurance company.
In a judment by SC in Kusum Sharma Vs. Batra hospital, the court observed thus:
Negligence in the context of medical profession necessarily calls for a treatment with a difference. To infer rashness or negligence on the part of a professional, in particular a doctor, additional considerations apply. A case of occupational negligence is different from one of professional negligence. A simple lack of care, an error of judgment or an accident, is not proof of negligence on the part of a medical professional. So long as a doctor follows a practice acceptable to the medical profession of that day, he cannot be held liable for negligence merely because a better alternative course or method of treatment was also available or simply because a more skilled doctor would not have chosen to follow or resort to that practice or procedure which the accused followed.
The standard to be applied for judging, whether the person charged has been negligent or not, would be that of an ordinary competent person exercising ordinary skill in that profession. It is not possible for every professional to possess the highest level of expertise or skills in that branch which he practices. A highly skilled professional may be possessed of better qualities, but that cannot be made the basis or the yardstick for judging the performance of the professional proceeded against on indictment of negligence.
The medical professional is often called upon to adopt a procedure which involves higher element of risk, but which he honestly believes as providing greater chances of success for the patient rather than a procedure involving lesser risk but higher chances of failure. Just because a professional looking to the gravity of illness has taken higher element of risk to redeem the patient out of his/her suffering which did not yield the desired result may not amount to negligence.
It was held by the apex court that :
The National Commission was justified in dismissing the complaint of the appellants. No interference is called for. The appeal being devoid of any merit is dismissed.
If yous still want to file a case before consumer forum for the unsatisfied result, you may contact a local advocate practicing in consumer forum and enquire all other details like fees, and the procedures from the chosen advocate.
As long as the doctors have performed their duties and exercised an ordinary degree of professional skill and competence, they cannot be held guilty of medical negligence. It is imperative that the doctors must be able to perform their professional duties with free mind.
Negligence is an essential ingredient of the offence. The negligence to be established by the prosecution must be culpable or gross and not the negligence merely based upon an error of judgment.
The true position is that an error of judgment may, or may not, be negligent, it depends on the nature of the error. If it is one that would not have been made by a reasonably competent professional man professing to have the standard and type of skill that the defendant holds himself out as having, and acting with ordinary care, then it is negligence. If, on the other hand, it is an error that such a man, acting with ordinary care, might have made, then it is not negligence
In the matter of professional liability professions differ from occupations for the reason that professions operate in spheres where success cannot be achieved in every case and very often success or failure depends upon factors beyond the professional man's control. In devising a rational approach to professional liability which must provide proper protection to the consumer while allowing for the factors mentioned above, the approach of the Courts is to require that professional men should possess a certain minimum degree of competence and that they should exercise reasonable care in the discharge of their duties. In general, a professional man owes to his client a duty in tort as well as in contract to exercise reasonable care in giving advice or performing services.
In a significant judgment in Indian Medical Association v. V.P. Shantha & Others (1995) 6 SCC 651, a three-Judge Bench of this Court held that service rendered to a patient by a medical practitioner (except where the doctor renders service free of charge to every patient or under a contract of personal service), by way of consultation, diagnosis and treatment, both medicinal and surgical, would fall within the ambit of `service' as defined in Section 2(1)(o) of the Consumer Protection Act, 1986. Deficiency in service has to be judged by applying the test of reasonable skill and care which is applicable in action for damages for negligence.
Yes you can claim compensation with the help of new consumer protection Act now from damages of deficiency in service
The amount of damages, if liable to be paid depends on the amount of lost caused physically and mentally to the patient.
Therefore there is no fixed quantum of money.
Dear Sir/Madam,
The process to serve a legal notice before filing the case. The total expenditure depends on the type of lawyer engaged by you. The legal process will be summoning the Doctor, his reply, your replication to that reply, arguments and then decision.
Hi, If there is any deficiency in service, then you can file Complaint before the Consumer Court.
- As per law, hair transplant is a modern medical treatment and homeopathic or Ayurveda or non-medical centres do not have any authority to perform this
- Hence, one can lodge compliant against unsatisfactory outcome , before the Consumer Court for claiming compensation as well.
- You can file a compliant before the Consumer forum of your jurisdiction , where you can opt for settle the dispute as well.
- Cost /fee depends upon the lawyer to whom you engaged .
