MRI death: HC awards Rs 10L to kin
The bench noted that the accident was caused due to negligence of the hospital authorities.
Mumbai: In an interim order, the Bombay high court on Tuesday directed the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) to give Rs 10 lakh as compensation to the family of Rajesh Maru, who died after being getting sucked into an MRI machine at the civic-run BYL Nair Hospital in 2018. The family has demanded more than Rs 1 crore as compensation. The court will continue hearing the petition.
The division bench of Justice Akil Kureshi and Justice S.J. Kathawalla passed this order while hearing a petition filed by Maru’s family seeking compensation.
The court said pending the completion of the police probe into the case and the final hearing in the matter before it, the BMC must pay the compensation amount of Rs 10 lakh to the victim’s family through a five-year fixed deposit in a bank.
The bench also observed that the tragic accident was caused due to the negligence of the hospital authorities. The bench also held that all material evidence on record had led the court to come to ‘strongly conclude’ that “but for the negligence of the hospital authorities, the unfortunate incident wouldn't have occurred”. And hence the authorities could not escape their liability of compensating the family of Maru for the incident observed the bench.
The hospital and the BMC, however, opposed the plea filed by Maru’s family on the grounds that the FIR registered in the case and statements of witnesses, among other things, did not establish the reason why Maru had been sucked into the machine.
According to the family, on January 28, 2018, Maru had gone to Nair to visit a relative admitted there. The same evening, the relative was taken for an MRI scan on the hospital premises.
A ward boy and a female attendant had accompanied Maru and his relative up to the ‘MRI lobby’ of the hospital. There, as per protocol, Maru and his relative were directed to rid themselves of all metallic objects considering the presence of strong magnetic waves of the MRI machine.
However, the ward boy then asked Maru to carry an oxygen cylinder meant for his relative into the MRI scan room. According to the plea, this ward boy had assured Maru that the MRI machine inside the room would be switched off and, therefore, there was no risk in carrying the cylinder inside.