A Karachi Consumer Protection Court has ordered a private hospital to pay Rs. 500,000 in compensation to a 90-year-old patient after finding the hospital responsible for providing poor medical services.
The court also directed the hospital to pay an additional Rs. 200,000 in legal costs and waived an outstanding medical bill of approximately Rs. 1.8 million, providing significant relief to the patient and her family.
The case involved a catheter that was initially inserted correctly but later moved into an artery, resulting in complications and requiring the elderly patient to undergo another surgery. According to the patient’s family, her health subsequently deteriorated significantly, and she eventually became severely paralysed.
However, the court noted that it could not conclusively establish that the catheter-related error was directly responsible for the paralysis. Despite this, the court found the hospital responsible for the medical error and inadequate care, particularly for the complications that led to the additional surgery.
The compensation was awarded in recognition of the additional medical treatment, financial burden, and mental distress suffered by the patient and her family, highlighting the responsibility of healthcare providers to maintain proper standards of patient care.
