A landmark medical negligence ruling by the National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission in New Delhi has brought renewed attention to surgical accountability after a woman died following the removal of the wrong kidney. The Commission described the incident as one of the gravest forms of negligence seen before a judicial forum and directed the surgeon to pay Rs 2 crore in compensation to the patient’s family. The case dated back to April 2012, when a 56-year-old woman was diagnosed with severe hydronephrosis in her right kidney. Preoperative ultrasound and imaging confirmed that the diseased organ was the right kidney, while the left kidney was healthy and functioning normally.
The patient subsequently underwent surgery at a private hospital in Aligarh on May 6, 2012, for a planned right nephrectomy. Following surgery, she was referred for dialysis at a second hospital. However, her…
