New Delhi : The Supreme Court awarded Rs.4 Lakhs as compensation to the victim in a case of medical negligence where an Ayurvedic doctor prescribed allopathic medicine. The victim a minor was treated for “Measles” instead of “Stevens-Johnson Syndrome” due to wrong diagnosis and leading to medical negligence. The apex court while noting the suffering and trauma faced by the minor observed that as per the counter affidavit, that the minor patient has till date not recovered completely and is under treatment.

The district consumer forum had awarded 1 Lakh as compensation which was upheld by the State consumer forum. The National Consumer Dispute Redressal Commission (NCDRC) enhanced the compensation to 10 Lakhs. The bench of Supreme Court noted that the NCDRC was not justified in enhancing the amount in absence of any cogent reasons or material, henceforth the apex court revised the compensation to Rs.4 Lakhs.