New Delhi, April 15 -- The Supreme Court has directed a Patna-based hospital to pay over Rs.7.4 lakh in compensation to a woman after a surgical sponge was left inside her abdomen during a caesarean section, forcing her to undergo a second surgery and endure prolonged physical and mental trauma. A bench of justices MM Sundresh and N Kotiswar Singh held that the case was a "clear" instance of negligence and faulted consumer fora for awarding what it termed a "meagre" compensation despite having accepted the lapse. "In our considered view, even the amount as sought for by the appellant is not very high. All the forums have committed a grave error in awarding a meagre compensation. It is a case where the appellant has suffered both mental and physical agony. It is also a clear case of negligence, duly proved before the forums below," said the bench in its recent order. The case relates to Binita Singh, who underwent a C-section at Kurjee Holy Family Hospital in Patna on August 24, 2005. During the procedure, a tetrasponge, used to absorb blood during surgery, was inadvertently left inside her body, triggering serious complications. The sponge remained undetected until Singh developed severe health issues, ultimately requiring a second surgery to remove it. The court recorded that the negligence led to infection and a significant deterioration in her overall health, leaving her unable to care for herself or her newborn child in the immediate aftermath. Despite these findings, the district consumer disputes redressal forum had awarded her just Rs.50,000 as compensation, along with reimbursement of medical expenses. Subsequent appeals before the state commission and the national commission yielded only marginal enhancements, taking the total payout to about Rs.1.31 lakh - an amount the petitioner accepted under protest. Intervening on appeal, the Supreme Court said such compensation was grossly inadequate given the gravity of the negligence and its consequences. "It is a case where the appellant has suffered both mental and physical agony," noted the bench, adding that "all the forums have committed a grave error in awarding a meagre compensation."...