A local court in Srinagar has awarded compensation to a 20-year-old patient whose lung collapsed during treatment at a medical institute in the city, ruling that doctors and the hospital were negligent in their care. The case dates back to April 2014, when the young man was admitted with chest pain and diagnosed with a minor pneumothorax . Although a senior resident had recommended conservative management, junior doctors proceeded with inserting a chest tube. Two days later, when the tube was to be removed, a junior doctor, reportedly occupied with her smartphone, instructed a hospital dresser to perform the procedure.
During the removal, air entered the patient’s chest cavity through the opening, causing his lung to collapse and making it necessary to insert another tube. The patient remained hospitalized for nine days. The patient and his mother told the court that the insertion and…
