NEW DELHI: A suspected case of medical negligence has dragged the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) to the Delhi Consumer Commission.

The father of a dengue-patient student, who died at AIIMS due to alleged negligence nearly two years ago, has moved the commission seeking a compensation of Rs96 lakh. The institutes director has been asked to respond to the petition by January 7,2009.

The notice was issued by justice JD Kapoor on the petition of Hyderabad resident Vijay Kumar, who in his appeal accused the AIIMS administration and its doctors of "gross negligence" which led to the death of 22-year-old son Raj Kiran, a seventh semester MBBS student at AIIMS, in September 2006.

Kumar had earlier filed a petition in the National Consumer Commission seeking a compensation of over Rs1 crore. He withdrew the plea following the apex court panels reservation over the quantum of compensation sought by him.

In his petition Kumar said: "It was absolutely clear that the deceased (Raj Kiran) was suffering from dengue hemorrhagic fever (DHF), warranting immediate treatment to save his life. But AIIMS failed to act quickly. On September 27,2006,after checking on the ailing victim, doctors sent him back to the hostel even though his condition warranted immediate care. Later, even after being diagnosed with dengue the hospital administration allotted him a bed after a delay of 10 hours. He died three days later."

Justifying the amount of compensation sought, Kumar informed the state commission that, "my son expired at the age of 22,shattering all hopes of improving our financial and social status".

The victims father also claimed that an inquiry was instituted by AIIMS in 2006 to look into the lapses in the treatment of Raj Kiran after the issue was highlighted by the media. The committee, according to Kumar, admitted that there was a delay in the victims treatment.

Source : Central