14th May: Supreme court has awarded one crore compensation to a software engineer who has become paralysed down the waist because of the negligence at the government run Nizam medical hospital. Some news papers have used term 'massive compensation' but it is not right to say massive because the person in question has become permanent disabled and can not move or do daily chores. His disability can not be compensated for any amount of money. In India disabled are considered and treated as a family and social burden. We do not even have infrastructure (e.g. low platform buses or trains and pedestrians area or other necessary things for a person who can not walk any more) for the disabled people. He will need psychological counselling as well to adjust into new life style that was not his destiny but has been imposed on him because of the sheer negligence of the hospital.
This ruling will set an example for the hospitals in the country. Private hospitals those are mushrooming in the country need to be afraid of financial liability if they do not take care of their patients. Currently private hospitals are run like a sugar mill to make profit and still being considered as an institute of social welfare.
In this case the hospital can argue that they are a government run hospital and they get lots of patients every day and they do not have enough resources to take care of all the patients. But these arguments can not be considered valid and justifiable. This compensation will eventually be paid by the government. This will force the government to think what they want? Do they want to improve the infrastructure and facilities in the hospital or pay compensation to many patients?
Though the pain of the engineer cause of his disability can not be reduced but he has set and example for the society and has forced the hospitals to recognise their liabilities towards patients.
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