The Bombay High Court on Tuesday directed the BMC and Nair Hospital to pay an interim compensation of Rs 10 lakh to the family of a 32-year-old who died after getting pulled into an MRI machine at the civic-run hospital last year.
A bench of justices Akil Kureshi and SJ Kathwalla observed that the accident of Rajesh Maru was caused due to negligence of hospital authorities.
It said that the court has concluded that the unfortunate accident would not have occurred had hospital authorities not been negligent. The authorities, therefore, could not escape the liability to pay compensation to Maru's family, the judges said. It has directed that they pay compensation through a five-year fixed deposit in a bank.
The petition had been filed by Maru's family seeking compensation. The bench has directed Rs 10 lakh as interim compensation as the police probe into the matter is on-going.
The accident took place on January 28, 2018, when Maru had gone to the hospital to visit a relative who was admitted there.
Maru and his relative were directed to remove all metallic objects considering the presence of strong magnetic waves of the MRI machine. However, a ward boy asked Maru to take an oxygen cylinder into the MRI room meant for his relative. Maru's family had told the court that the ward boy had assured that the MRI machine would be switched off and there would be no risk in carrying the cylinder. But as the machine was on, it pulled him into it along with the oxygen cylinder. His left hand got stuck into the machine and he inhaled a huge quantity of leaked oxygen which ultimately led to his death.
