Claim against hospital negligenceQ: My mother-in-law who lives in India was diagnosed with a kidney stone. She underwent a laser treatment and the stone was removed successfully. But after a few days, her health became critical and she was re-admitted to the same hospital. She died due to complications of the stent as the doctor failed to brief us about it. If the concerned doctor is covered under the Medical Malpractice Insurance, can we lodge a claim against the doctor? A: Medical Malpractice Insurance does cover the doctor and/or the medical institution against liability due to negligence. First, make sure that the cause of death is due to the hospital staff's fault. Find out the reasons for the complication, whether she had taken the medicines as prescribed by the surgeon and had followed up as suggested by the doctor. The death certificate will give you the exact cause of her death. If this suggests any negligence on part of the doctor or the institute on, then you can make them liable. The doctor may have a malpractice policy taken personally or by the hospital. Even if they do not have the policy, you can pursue your claim against the doctor or the hospital. The liability is the responsibility of the concerned doctor and/or the hospital, whereas insurance offers them only financial compensation. Q: I am working for a printing press. Recently, due to a technical problem my finger got stuck in the machine and had to be amputated. My sponsor has provided me with the medical expenses. Do I get any other compensation from any other sources? A: Since you are a regular employee working for the printing press, your employer may be paying to GOSI based on your salary. If he lodges a claim with GOSI, even your medical cost would have been borne by GOSI as your accident is purely work-related. Your compensation may be a small percentage of your income declared to GOSI. You can also check if you or your employer have any other personal accident policies and life policies with Permanent Partial Disablement extension. These policies will also pay a portion of the sum insured. If your employer is having a Workmen Compensation (WC) policy (difference in condition), you can get a claim under your WC policy in case your compensation is not picked up by the GOSI. – Shujaath Ahmed Khan, an MBA, General Manager, Creative Associates is also a consultant and an expert in Insurance, Investments and Real Estate. He can be contacted at [email protected], website-www.creativeassociates.blogspot.com. __
