The Kerala Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission has directed a private hospital and its treating doctor to pay ₹1.03 lakh in compensation after concluding that a colonoscopy was performed without obtaining the patient's informed consent, resulting in a bowel perforation that required emergency surgery. According to the Commission, the patient was admitted to the private hospital for evaluation and treatment of abdominal complaints. Although she was conscious, competent, and capable of making medical decisions, the hospital proceeded with a colonoscopy after obtaining consent from her daughter instead of obtaining authorization directly from the patient.
During the procedure, the patient sustained a bowel perforation , a recognized but serious complication of colonoscopy. The complication necessitated emergency surgery , prolonged hospitalization, and additional medical treatment. The…
