Hyderabad consumer forum orders ₹1 crore payout in scholar's death
District consumer commission directs Hyderabad hospital and doctor to pay ₹1 crore to parents of UoH scholar who died in 2020.
The District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission in Hyderabad has ordered Citizens Speciality Hospital in Nallagandla and its consultant neurologist, Aparna Vijay Kumar, to pay ₹1 crore in compensation to the parents of Surya Pratap Bharati, a 30-year-old PhD scholar at the University of Hyderabad who died in August 2020.
Surya, a first-generation scholar from a financially disadvantaged family in Mau district, Uttar Pradesh, suffered a brain stroke on August 17, 2020, and was admitted to Citizens Hospital. According to the complaint, the hospital reported him as COVID-19 positive and advised his transfer to a dedicated COVID facility.
He was shifted to Continental Hospital on August 19, where tests reportedly found him negative for COVID-19. He was declared brain dead and died on August 21.
The case was pursued pro bono after Surya's friends approached advocate Rajasri Manche. The Commission, in its order last week, held the hospital and doctor responsible for deficiency in service and awarded ₹1 crore to Surya's parents.
His friends said the legal battle was pursued independently, without any political or organisational backing. The legal counsel noted this is the largest compensation amount ever awarded by a district consumer forum.