Chandigarh, Aug. 3 -- Finding Fortis hospital in Mohali guilty of gross medical negligence, the district consumer disputes redressal commission has directed it to pay Rs.50 lakh compensation to the family of a patient who died at the hospital in 2021.

The deceased, Harit Sharma, was a practising advocate at the Punjab and Haryana high court. His dying declaration from the hospital bed, a note in which he had written that he overheard doctors discussing that his case was mishandled, served as a crucial piece of evidence.

The consumer commission held that the hospital is liable not only for medical negligence but also for deficiency in services and unfair trade practices. "The ends of justice would meet if a lump sum compensation of Rs.50...