Agartala/Hyderabad, May 20: In a significant verdict on medical negligence, the District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission-II, Hyderabad, has directed Yashoda Hospital, Malakpet, and spine surgeon Dr. Venkata Ramakrishna T to jointly pay Rs 50 lakh as compensation and Rs 20,000 towards litigation expenses to a 44-year-old woman from Tripura who was left permanently disabled following spinal surgery performed in 2019.
The order, issued on May 11, 2026, held both the hospital and the surgeon responsible for medical negligence and deficiency in service. The commission instructed them to pay the compensation within 45 days, stating that any delay in compliance would attract annual interest on the amount.
The complainant, Jhuma Nath, a resident of Tripura, had reportedly been suffering from persistent lower back pain radiating to her left leg. According to case records, an MRI scan conducted in February 2019 showed Grade-I spondylolisthesis at the L5-S1 level.
During a consultation in Agartala, Dr. Ramakrishna allegedly assured Nath of a “100 percent cure” through surgery and warned that delaying the procedure could result in paralysis. Relying on this advice, Nath travelled to Hyderabad with her family and was admitted to Yashoda Hospital on May 16, 2019.
The next day, she underwent L5-S1 stabilisation and Transforaminal Lumbar Interbody Fusion (TLIF) surgery. However, instead of showing improvement, Nath’s condition reportedly deteriorated after the operation. She was unable to walk or stand properly, had to cancel her return journey, and eventually returned to Agartala in a wheelchair.
Subsequent consultations at several hospitals diagnosed her with Failed Back Syndrome. Medical opinions obtained later reportedly indicated that surgery was not necessary for her Grade-I condition.
The commission observed that no fresh MRI scan was conducted after her admission and noted that conservative, non-surgical treatment options had not been adequately explored. Rejecting the hospital’s defence, the bench concluded that the surgery was unwarranted and had resulted in permanent disability for the patient.
