K.Sampath, President (Open Court) - (1.) THE complainant is the appellant herein. The case lies in a very narrow compass. The complainant suffered from knee pain. She was admitted in opposite party No. 1 hospital and operated upon by opposite party No. 2. She was discharged after 15 days. According to her, she was not given any discharge summary. The request for discharge summary was made with advice for another surgery. The persistent knee pain ended in surgery at CM Hospital, Nanganallur which operation revealed the presence of drill bit in the knee. She underwent another surgery at G.H. She was in the hospital for nearly 100 days from 5.7.2002 to 26.11.2002. She was unable to perform normal household duties. She caused a notice to be issued to the opposite parties which did not evoke any response and she came forward with the complaint.
(2.) THE opposite parties resisted the complaint contending that there was no deficiency in service that the pain due to knee injury suffered earlier by her and test showed that it was due to swelling in the lower end of thigh bone. She was advised to undergo biopsy for diagnosis and not for cure under regional anaesthesia. During surgery, drilling was done and bone bit was taken for examination. When the last hole was drilled, the tip of the drill bit was broken and got embedded in the bone substance. She was informed of the presence of the drill bit and told that it was nothing serious. She failed to heed for bone biopsy and the pain in the knee was only cancerous femur bone. There was no deficiency in service. The complaint was liable to be dismissed.
(3.) BEFORE the District Forum, on the side of the complainant Exs. A1 to A9 were marked while on the side of the opposite parties Exs. B1 to B9 were marked. The District Forum dismissed the complaint holding that the discharge summary revealed that the pain was due to the cancerous growth in the knee and not due to the drill bit that there was no deficiency in service that there was nothing to show on record that the opposite parties acted negligently and deliberately by putting the drill bit into the bone that in surgeries which were to be done minutely, these small lapses might occur which could not be termed as negligence. So holding, by order dated 30.9.2004, the District Forum dismissed the complaint. It is as against that the present appeal has been filed.;