Lab’s Erroneous Report Triggered Unnecessary Hospitalisation and Psychological Trauma: Commission
New Delhi:
In a landmark ruling, the Delhi State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission has ordered Dr Lal Pathlabs to pay ₹3.5 lakh in compensation to a patient who was wrongly diagnosed with life-threatening conditions due to an erroneous lab report. The court found the lab guilty of deficiency in service, stating that the false report led to emergency hospitalisation and significant mental and physical distress.
In its May 26 order, the commission, led by President Sangita Dhingra Sehgal and Judicial Member Pinki, upheld a 2014 district forum decision indicting the lab for its negligence. The report in question had shown urea levels over ten times the normal range, prompting immediate hospitalisation and anxiety for the patient.
The court rejected the lab’s claims that the abnormal readings could have resulted from the patient’s medication or prior history. “Such astronomical deviation in results cannot be explained by the mere consumption of a tablet like Spirex,” the panel observed.
Further rejecting the lab’s defense that the patient refused to retake the test, the commission stated, “The respondent was under no obligation to repeat the test. The alarming values presented in the report were enough to cause panic. Independent testing by Max Health Care, Dr Dangs Laboratory, and Super Religare Laboratories confirmed normal levels.”
The panel also highlighted the gravity of misdiagnosis, noting that errors in pathological testing can directly lead to incorrect medical treatment and, potentially, fatal outcomes. “The discharge summary from Max Hospital explicitly linked the patient’s admission to the erroneous outside lab report,” it noted.
The commission ruled that the mental agony, trauma, and hospital expenses suffered by the patient were a direct result of the lab’s negligence. Concluding that Dr Lal Pathlabs failed to uphold the standard of care expected in medical testing, the court termed the compensation as “just and reasonable.”
