Pune Consumer Commission Orders Private Hospital to Pay Rs 1.2 Lakh for Missed Hip Fracture

Pune, 26th December 2025: The Maharashtra State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (Pune Circuit Bench) has held Ruby Hall Clinic and one of its doctors guilty of medical negligence for failing to diagnose a hip fracture in an accident victim. The Commission overturned a previous District Forum order and directed the respondents to pay approximately Rs 1.2 lakh, along with interest, to the complainant.

The order was passed on December 16, 2025, by Presiding Member Milind S. Sonawane and Member Nagesh C. Kumbre.

Case Background
The complainant, Prakash Babulal alias Sohanlal Pardeshi (60), an auto-rickshaw driver from Gultakadi, met with a road accident on May 17, 2006, near the Circuit House in Pune. He was admitted to Ruby Hall Clinic (Grant Medical Foundation), where Dr. Jayant S. Shah examined him.
According to the complaint, an X-ray was conducted, and Dr. Shah informed Pardeshi that no fracture was detected. He was discharged the next day with medication. However, Pardeshi continued to experience severe hip pain. Subsequent consultations with Dr. Ramesh Kering and Dr. Varsha Hardas confirmed a hip joint fracture. Pardeshi underwent urgent hip surgery at Samarth Hospital in June 2006 and later filed a consumer complaint alleging deficiency in service, seeking compensation for medical expenses, loss of income, and harassment.

Defence
The hospital and Dr. Shah contested the claim, arguing that the X-ray from May 17, 2006, did not show a fresh fracture. They also stated that Pardeshi had a pre-existing condition involving a rod fitted during a 1996 accident, which he had not disclosed. The respondents further argued that the District Forum had rightly dismissed the complaint due to insufficient expert evidence of negligence.

Judgment
The State Commission observed that the hospital relied heavily on technical aspects of the X-ray while disregarding Pardeshi’s clinical condition. The bench noted that when he was discharged, he was in severe pain and had contusions on his hip.

The Commission ruled: “It is settled practice that medical practitioners shall not only rely on the reports generated by machines but also correlate the results in the report with the clinical symptoms.” It held that discharging a patient in severe pain without a proper diagnosis amounted to medical negligence.

Compensation Ordered
The Commission quashed the earlier dismissal by the District Forum and directed Dr. Jayant S. Shah and Ruby Hall Clinic to jointly or severally pay:
Rs. 85,000 for medical expenses, with 6% interest per annum from the date of filing the appeal in 2014.
Rs. 25,000 for mental and physical harassment.
Rs. 10,000 as the cost of proceedings.
The claim for loss of business income was rejected, as the Commission attributed it to the accident itself rather than the medical negligence.
Advocate Aashutosh Srivastava represented Pardeshi pro bono, taking no fees, in the successful case against Ruby Hall Clinic and Dr. Shah.