The State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission, Punjab, has upheld the dismissal of a medical negligence complaint against an eye surgeon and a private hospital, holding that liability can arise only when the conduct of a medical professional falls below the standard of a reasonably competent practitioner in the same field. The Commission found no such lapse in a case arising out of a LASIK eye surgery performed in 2017. The case originated when the complainant approached the respondent eye hospital with complaints of defective distance vision.
After examination, the treating doctor diagnosed refractive errors of –2.00 in the right eye and –1.75 in the left eye and advised a standard LASIK procedure. A second opinion from another doctor also confirmed myopia in both eyes and recommended LASIK surgery. The complainant thereafter returned to the first hospital, deposited advance…
