14 yr on, man gets Rs 2 cr NCDRC award for mom’s faulty kidney surgery

Agra: In an important ruling on medical negligence, National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (NCDRC) has awarded ₹2 crore in compensation to the family of an Aligarh-based woman after a surgeon mistakenly removed her healthy left kidney instead of her diseased right one.

Terming the 2012 incident “one of the gravest forms of negligence” and “a medical disaster,” the commission noted that the error was of the “highest order.”The bench, comprising Justice A P Sahi and member Bharatkumar Pandya, directed the operating surgeon to pay the compensation alongside ₹1 lakh in litigation costs. Furthermore, the doctor must pay 6% annual interest calculated from Feb 20, 2014—the date of the patient’s demise.

The total amount must be cleared within three months, failing which the interest rate will increase to 9%.The victim, Shanti Devi, had approached the surgeon in April 2012 complaining of severe abdominal pain. Diagnostic tests, including an ultrasound and an intravenous urogram, confirmed severe hydronephrosis in her right kidney, while documenting her left kidney as completely healthy. Based on these reports, the doctor advised surgical removal of the non-functional right kidney.

However, following the operation on May 6, 2012, Devi’s health rapidly deteriorated. Subsequent CT scans and independent radiological evaluations conducted at other premier healthcare institutions, including AIIMS Delhi, revealed negligence. The healthy left kidney had been removed, while the diseased right kidney remained intact. Despite undergoing repeated dialysis and extensive corrective treatments, Devi succumbed to complications two years later.Dismissing the surgeon’s defense, NCDRC highlighted the doctor’s own contradiction, noting he admitted to making a right-sided incision but ultimately extracted the left kidney. “There is no explanation by the doctor as to how the left side kidney went missing,” the commission observed.NCDRC relied on corroborative investigative findings from an expert medical board constituted by the chief medical officer (CMO), the Uttar Pradesh Medical Council and the Medical Council of India (MCI)All regulatory bodies held the surgeon liable. Additionally, the UP Medical Council established that the doctor had submitted a forged case sheet to shield himself, resulting in a two-year suspension of his medical licence—a disciplinary action later upheld by MCI.NCDRC observed that the patient could have survived significantly longer had her healthy kidney remained intact. The final ₹2 crore compensation package comprises ₹1.5 crore awarded for gross medical negligence, ₹50 lakh divided equally among the five complainants (Devi’s husband and four children) “to address the profound loss of love, affection and companionship“.For the family, the historic verdict brings definitive closure, though it remains bittersweet. Speaking to TOI, the victim’s son, Veer Singh (49), an LIC agent who attended every single court hearing since 2012, said: “After 14 long years, I have finally got justice. But what hurts most is that my mother is not here to see it. The verdict would have meant so much more if it had come while she was alive... I kept fighting this legal battle for her, but the justice she deserved came too late.”Confirming the development, the complainants’ counsel, Sudarshan Ranjan, said on Friday, “NCDRC order came after a long legal battle. The victim’s family has finally received justice.”