Karnataka High Court Orders FIR Against Two Doctors Including One From Fortis For Allegedly Operating Man Without Consent

The Karnataka High Court has ordered registration of medical negligence FIR against two doctors attached to private hospitals, including Fortis, for allegedly operating on a man without proper consent.One Vikas Dev alleged that the first accused doctor at Bengaluru based GM Hospital obtained his consent for inserting a catheter on the right side of his father's body but, the procedure was done on the left side. As the father's condition deteriorated, he was shifted to Fortis Hospital, where his father succumbed to cardiac arrest while being operated by the second accused doctor, again without consent.Justice M Nagaprasanna has directed the Police to register a FIR in the matter and proceed in accordance with law. The bench emphatically observed, “When the sanctity of medical care is breached by alleged negligence, it is not merely a lapse of procedure, but a desecration of dignity inherent in human life.”Dev alleged that the life of his father was lost on account of negligence and callous act of the Doctors but his complaint was summarily rejected by the jurisdictional by rendering a non-cognizable report, as according to the Police it was a case to be preferred before the Karnataka Medical Council under Karnataka Medical Registration Act, 1961.It is averred that the Assistant Police Commissioner and the Deputy Police Commissioner also did not take any action.The petitioner argued there was gross negligence on the part of Doctor who inserted the Catheter at a wrong place and blocked his father's jugular vein, leading to stoppage of blood flow back from the Catheter. "If this cannot be a prima facie medical negligence, what else could it be," it was argued.He also cited a a preliminary inquiry report from the Victoria Hospital, which opined that the Doctor who operated for the purpose of Catheter is responsible for the death..Findings: The bench on going through the records noted that the consent of the petitioner was not obtained for the change of type of surgery. "The Catheter is inserted on the wrong side without the consent of the petitioner. The H.D. Catheter was again inserted when permission/consent was obtained for Perma Catheter. The surgery was performed by the duty Doctor, instead of the surgeon; and the Doctors have allegedly failed to take corrective measures to alleviate the deteriorating condition of the patient in the emergency," the Court noted in its order.It also referred to the medical committee report constituted by the State and the report furnished by Victoria Hospital, confirming that the catheter caused lung collapse, "a complication known but avoidable with proper care.”"The patient, entrusting their vulnerability to the hands of the Doctor, becomes the silent victim of apathy. Their right to life of dignity gets extinguished, not by fate but by failure...The petitioner who has lost his father, under circumstances that cry for an investigation, cannot be left remediless," the Court finally remarked and ordered FIR. Appearance: Advocate Sameer Sharma for Petitioner.HCGP Spoorthy Hegde N for Respondent. Citation No: 2025 LiveLaw (Kar) 218Case Title: Vikas M Dev AND State of Karnataka & Others Case No: WRIT PETITION No.24162 OF 2024Click Here To Read/Download Order

Karnataka High Court Orders FIR Against Two Doctors Including One From Fortis For Allegedly Operating Man Without Consent

Mustafa Plumber

Tags