CONSUMER AWARENESS

Insurance co fined Rs. 50,000 for delay in settling claim
New Delhi: The National Consumer Commission has directed an insurance company to pay a cost of Rs. 50,000 to a company for adopting dilly-dallying tactics by appointing various surveyors to settle the claim. "When the complaint has suffered huge irrecoverable losses… the record shows that the insurance company harassed it for some documents or the other and lastly appointing surveyors after surveyors, joint surveyors and verification surveyors for years together only show apathy in settling the matter, which is deficiency in service," the Commission said. It also pulled up the National Insurance Company Limited (NICL) for further scaling down the losses assessed by two surveyors appointed by it.
"Once the insurance company, surveyors and the complainant came to the conclusion that the stocks cannot be segregated and the stocks were physically verified and tallied with the bank statement, there is no reason for the NICL to reduce the amount," the Commission said.
The Commission ordered the insurance company to pay the rest Rs. 1.14 crore to the complainant company, Cimmco Birla Limited, which suffered huge losses after it was being submerged in a flood water for many days in 1996.

Medical negligence ruled out, Rs. 50,000 awarded ex gratia
Humanity prevails
She lost the vision of her right eye in a cataract operation but her allegation of medical negligence was not proved. Did she get justice?
Damayanti Devi, Jaipur, was having some problem in her right eye, for which she has consulted Dr. Indu Arora. She was told that a minor cataract operation at the SMS Hospital, Jaipur, could restore her vision.
Damayanti got herself admitted to the eye unit of Dr. Arora, professor and unit head of the department of ophthalmology, SMS Hospital, Jaipur, on 25 July 1997. Dr. Arora operated on her right eye the next day.
Dmayanti complained to the District Forum, Jaipur II, Jaipur, alleging that while operating on her, the doctor had negligently damaged the retina which was not the subject matter of the operation; it was the cornea of the eye which had the lens from where cataract was to be extracted. The damage had resulted in grievous injury, retina detachment and vitreous hemorrhage. Later, other doctors, including Dr. P.L. Nagpal, MS, F.A.C.S. of Retina Foundation, Ahmedabad, corroborated and certified the injury to the retina, Damayati added claiming Rs. 11,05,400
The verdict
The Forum dismissed the complaint and ruled out medical negligence on Dr. Arora’s part. Complications could arise in a cataract operation. The loss of vision of the right eye after the operation could not be attributed to medical negligence, the Forum added.
An aggrieved Damaynti appealed to the Rajasthan State Commission, Jaipur. The Commission observed, "No doubt medical negligence had not been established against Dr. Arora; but Damayanti had lost her vision of the right eye because of the operation. The question arises whether some sort of ex gratia payment could be ordered to be given to her or not".
The commission dismissed the appeal. However, on humanitarian and equitable considerations, it ordered the State of Rajasthan to pay Rs. 50,000 to Damayanti as ex gratia within two months from the date of the order, failing which the State would pay interest at 9 per cent a year on the amount.
Ex gratia payments could not be claimed as matter of right, the Commission added. It, however, took into account the facts that (i) Damayanti had spent a lot of money in getting further treatment from various hospitals; (ii) by losing the vision of the right eye, she should have certainly faced inconvenience, hardship, discomfort, disappointment, frustration and mental stress; (iii) even for the loss of vision of one eye in an accident, the State Insurance Department pays Rs. 1 lakh to the victim; and (iv) she has been facing the trial of her complaint since 13 August 2001.
The commission clarified that its order would not be cited as a precedent.
A humanitarian verdict