So far, 26 cases have been registered in the Consumer Court, which was formed six years after the enactment of the 'Consumer Protection Act 2075'. It seems that many cases related to medical negligence, purchase and sale of vehicles including electric vehicles, laptops and other technical equipment have been registered in the court, which hears cases under consumer rights.

The government formed the Consumer Court on 2 Chaitra 2081. In the fiscal year 2081/82, 17 cases were registered in this court. Out of which, 6 were health negligence cases, 4 were vehicle quality cases, 2 were electronics quality and transportation services cases, 1 was school negligence cases, 1 was gold and silver purchase cases, 1 was home interior construction quality cases, 1 was software cases, and 1 was personal injury case in airlines.

Out of these, the Consumer Court has decided 3 cases related to health negligence and made a settlement agreement. 2 cases related to health negligence are pending. Similarly, 3 cases related to vehicle purchase and sale and other matters have been decided and 2 have been settled. 3 applications have been withdrawn. The case related to personal injury in airlines, CG Motors case, and Rudra Electronics case are pending.

So far, 9 cases have been registered in the current fiscal year 2082/83, of which 4 are related to health negligence and the rest are related to vehicle purchase and sale and quality complaints about electric vehicles. Eight cases are pending and one has been dismissed. The court has the jurisdiction to hear consumer complaints from three districts of the valley - Bhaktapur, Lalitpur and Kathmandu.

The Consumer Court had ruled in a hospital and medical negligence case last Ashar, including a large amount of compensation, which was discussed and criticized by doctors. In protest of the verdict, the medical association had even stopped all services except emergency services and went on a strike.

Here are the verdicts in medical negligence cases

In the fiscal year 2081/82, 6 cases of medical negligence were filed, of which three cases have been decided, one has been settled and two are pending. According to Homanath Kadel, Information Officer of the Consumer Court, the first case was a case of compensation filed by the son of the deceased alleging medical negligence of Om Hospital and Research Center Pvt. Ltd.

Judgment No. 1

Basanta Gautam of Kathmandu took his father Hari Prasad Gautam to Om Hospital for urgent treatment after he fell in the bathroom and injured his leg. After examining him in the emergency room, the doctor gave him painkillers and discharged him. But even after four days, Hari Prasad's leg pain did not subside. He was admitted to another hospital, Hams.

Tests at Hams confirmed that the leg was broken and there was a delay in treatment. The hospital treated the leg and discharged him on 'bed rest'. Less than a month later, Hari Prasad died. Family members filed a case against Om Hospital in the Consumer Court, claiming that the family had suffered financial, mental and physical damage due to the hospital's negligence. The Consumer Court delivered its verdict on 29 Jestha. The court ruled that there was medical negligence and ordered the victim's family to pay 56 lakh 81 thousand rupees in compensation.

Verdict No. 2

Varsha Bhandari went to Grande City Hospital with her problem. The hospital doctors had operated on her twice, saying that her body fat was high and could be reduced with treatment. But instead of getting better, she got an infection. Bhandari filed a case in the Consumer Court, claiming that Grande City Hospital had provided substandard services. Bhandari had filed a case, claiming that she had received 31.7 million rupees in compensation. On 5 Ashar, the Consumer Court had ordered that she should receive 57 lakh 19 thousand rupees in compensation.

 Decision No. 3

 On 28 Magh 2079, Ganga Gautam (her father) took his 28-month-old daughter Prasanna to Himal Hospital in Dnyaneshwor. Pediatrician Dr. Jaydev Yadav examined her. After not getting better after some time there and her health condition deteriorated further, he took her to another hospital. Prasanna died due to excessive fluid accumulation in her lungs.

The family had filed a case in the Consumer Court demanding compensation, alleging that the doctors at Himal Hospital did not provide further treatment and did not know about the girl's illness, which led to the death of their child. The family had filed a case with a compensation claim of Rs. 19.5 million. The Consumer Court had ruled on 12 Ashar that they should receive Rs. 14.5 million in compensation. The case was transferred from the Kathmandu District Court to the Consumer Court.

Settlement

Jayaprasad Rai Yadav's mother was admitted to Norvic International Hospital for treatment of heart disease. Instead of improving her mother's health, she had more problems and even became paralyzed during the treatment. Jayaprakash approached the consumer court. In this case, registered on 31 Baisakh, a demand has been made for compensation for future problems. The hospital agreed to treat her and pay compensation. The case was transferred from the Kathmandu District Court to the consumer court.

The case is pending

Subash Parajuli of Kathmandu takes his wife Manita to Everest Hospital after she experiences labor pains. Dr. Jyotsna Sharma of Everest had been regularly examining her. Their child (daughter) was also born. But Manita continues to suffer from upper abdominal pain, high blood pressure and headaches.

Manita, who is undergoing treatment, is referred to Hams Hospital in a few days. But Hams says that the problem is complicated and many organs have failed. Manita dies after some time. Parajuli has approached the consumer court alleging that Everest Hospital did not provide proper treatment, was negligent in the treatment, and did not inform the patient's family members about the death of his wife. This case is still pending in the consumer court.

Similarly, Yashoda Basnet took her sick child to Kanti Children's Hospital. After her child died during treatment, she has also filed a case against the hospital in the consumer court. She claims that her child died due to lack of timely treatment. She had filed a case on 27 Jestha 2082 seeking compensation. This case is also pending.

Medical negligence cases filed in the current fiscal year: So far in the current fiscal year, four cases related to medical negligence have been filed. All of these cases are yet to be decided. On 29 Bhadra, Sita Shrestha filed a case against Nepal Medical College, claiming that her 42-day-old child died due to the doctor's negligence.

Similarly, Ravindra Shrestha's son died during treatment at Kanti Children's Hospital. Shrestha filed a case on 30 Bhadra, claiming that his son died due to the hospital's negligence. Akshit Jain had gone to Cutis Care Pvt. Ltd. (Skin Care Hospital) for skin treatment. The court stated that the case was filed on 31 Bhadra to seek compensation because the treatment took longer than the time the Cutis doctor had told him and because he was unable to go out due to more skin problems.

Similarly, Sabukumari Chaudhary had gone to the dentist for her teeth treatment. Her problem has worsened and even the RCT performed on her teeth has deteriorated, and she has had to have new teeth placed, so she has filed a case against Ajay Kumar Shah (dentist) on October 21 to get the expenses (compensation) paid. When the injection that was supposed to be given to a patient in one bed was given to Sarita Neupane, a patient in another bed, she became paralyzed. She is still undergoing treatment. She has filed a case to get compensation as she has not recovered well and has also developed other health problems due to medical negligence.

Leaderless Consumer Court

The court continuously heard the complaints with compensation claims for the first few months and gave its verdict. There was also controversy over these decisions. Hospitals and doctors even protested for a few days. However, the court is now leaderless, which has affected its functioning. Judge Ram Prasad Sharma, who is the chairman of the court, has been transferred to the Dhading District Court. No other chairman has been appointed in his place.

The court has been without a chairperson since Shrawan due to the government not giving responsibility to another judge, said Shrestedar Shobhakar Kharel of the court. There is a system of three-member bench. The hearing is being conducted with the help of two judges. Currently, judges Gehendra Raj Regmi and Ananda Raj Pokharel are working on assigning cases and conducting hearings.

Senior advocate and President of the Consumer Interest Protection Forum Jyoti Baniya says that very few cases have been registered due to the general public not being aware of the consumer court and the tendency to hide problems. ‘The number of cases is low now,’ he says, ‘The general public would rather throw stones at the hospital, but not come to the court. If they are in trouble, they will choose the legal route. There is no cost to file a case in the consumer court. The case is decided after completing all the procedures within three months.’

While deciding medical cases in the consumer court, it is necessary to include health experts, said Dr. Anil Bikram Karki says. ‘The process of determining compensation is wrong. Health is a fundamental right for everyone, we say it should be given free of charge,’ he said. ‘On the other hand, if compensation is paid in this way even in cases where there is no negligence, no one will work or study. If the patient’s claim is received, it should be taken forward scientifically. Our demand is that health experts should be appointed while deciding the case.’

According to Karki, the court can play an important role if institutions, councils or experts in technical fields such as health, medicine, engineering are appointed. ‘The government will make a law to take action against wrongdoings in the health sector. But if there is no negligence and the patient dies during treatment in the hospital, we will not file a case,’ he said.

Homnath Kadel, Information Officer of the Consumer Court, says that if you do not like the decision, you can seek further legal remedies. ‘The decision will be made based on what is provided by the law and the act,’ he said, ‘If you do not like the decision of the consumer court, there is a place to appeal.  Our decision is not the only final one. An appeal can be made in the Patan High Court.  You can also go to the Supreme Court.’

Related news: 

Doctors protest against the decision of the consumer court, services other than emergency services are closed