Medical Complaints

Over the past 20 years, medical technology has seen a tremendous growth. According to a recent study, medical technology has evolved more in the last 20 years than in the past thousand years. The same growth is also imminent in the total number of hospitals being established.

So far there are a total number of 4,419 hospitals in India with more than 400,000 beds for patients. Technologies such as Robotic surgery which were unheard of are soon going to become a common sight. X-Ray, CT & MRI scans are the most commonly used technologies by the doctors today.

Since everything has its own disadvantages along with the advantages, medical development and its related services too have shown a negative impact in recent years. It is observed that ample amounts of medical complaints are being filed by the consumers regarding the medical services that they have taken, just because of medical negligence by doctors or care takers.

There have been many consumer complaints registered against hospitals and medical professionals regarding medical negligence, improper diagnosis, unfair billing for medical services and many more. These complaints have increased drastically over the past years in Bangalore, Mumbai, Pune, New Delhi, Chennai and almost all the cities in India.

Over the past few years, medical negligence has become a quite common term. Medical negligence or Medical malpractice, as the term suggests, relates to the process when a medical or health care professional deviates from standards in his or her profession thereby causing grievous injury to the patient.

Medical negligence can be seen in various cases like when reasonable care is not taken during operations, diagnosis or even during the delivery of the child. Many doctors purposely practice medical negligence as a way to extract more money from the patient.

In this article, we have covered the common medical complaints, hospital complaints and complaints against doctors that are faced by patients and how you can resolve them.

But before discussing medical complaints in detail, let's know more about some of the most famous hospitals in India.

Famous Hospitals in India

1. AIIMS, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Delhi

AIIMS has some of the best doctors and all sorts of facilities required in medical research. Not only that, AIIMS is also the foremost as well as prestigious training institute for medical science. Students from all over India come here to study. Even patients from all over India come here for advanced treatment for critical illnesses. The main reason for it is that people who belong to below poverty line can afford the medical expenses here. This is a government hospital which has been also appreciated internationally. India Today Group announced AIIMS as the best hospital in India in 2014.

2. Indraprastha Apollo Hospital, New Delhi

Apollo Hospital is considered as the pioneer of the healthcare services provided all over Asia. Indraprastha Apollo hospital has maintained its excellence in education, research and healthcare to serve humanity better. The main aim of this organization is to provide medical services to its patients that are of international standard. Apollo Hospital is also known for its technological superiority. It is specialized in Cancer treatment, Orthopaedics, Neuro sciences, Organ transplantation, and Cardiac sciences.

3. Christian Medical College, Vellore
Christian Medical College has the foremost position in the field of medical science. The use of latest technologies, providing affordable treatment costs and distinctive features of CMC sanitary measures makes it unique. CMC specializes in advanced therapeutic services, Neuro sciences, Gastroenterology and Haematology. CMC is known for its world-class services related to healthcare which is under the reach of the poor section of the society. It has 2600 beds along with 11 Intensive Care Units (ICUs). There are more than 1500 doctors and more than 9000 medical staff to provide the best service to each patient. CMC has also achieved recognition throughout the world as the medical and research centre.

4. Tata Memorial Hospital, Mumbai
Tata Memorial Hospital is popular for its well-known cancer treatment. It is situated in Mumbai and is specialized in acute lymphoblastic leukaemia treatment. Tata Memorial Hospital is also called Cancer Research Centre (CRC). Other specialized services provided by the Tata Memorial hospital are blood tests, Operation theatre, Hemato Oncology, ICU and P.E.T scanner. It is associated with the Advanced Centre for Treatment, Research and Education in Cancer or ACTREC. It has been recognized nationally for its world-class treatment, well-equipped infrastructure and latest technologies.

5. Fortis Hospital, Kolkata
Fortis Hospital is situated in Kolkata. It has one of the best advanced medical facilities and possesses world-class infrastructure. It provides 24 hours emergency service to the critical patients. Fortis hospital is specialized in cardiology, nephrology and urology. The Intensive Care Unit (ICU) in the hospital has a Coronary Care Unit, and Medical Intensive Care Unit. The hospital is well-furnished with more than 70 beds. The excellent infrastructure and well-trained doctors and medical staff have made it one of the best hospitals in the country.

6. Lilavati Hospital, Mumbai
Lilavati Hospital is a famous multi specialty hospital in India. The quality of healthcare services has attracted many patients from around the world. The aim of the hospital is to provide its patients more than just treatment and healthcare but also the touch of humanity. It was set up in 1997 and is managed by Lilavati Kirtilal Mehta Medical Trust. It has more than 300 beds and 12 operation theaters in it.

Types of Medical Complaints

We at Voxya generally receive around hundreds of medical complaints every month relating to medical negligence or complaints about doctors exaggerating how they could have performed better or how the patients are being overcharged for the facilities. The most common medical complaints made by patients include poor nursing staff, wrong medicine packages delivered, intentionally looting customers, medical negligence etc. Some of the most common and frequent medical complaints by patients in cities like Mumbai, Bengaluru, New Delhi, Pune and Kolkata are given below:

Medical Negligence

Medical negligence is the act of performing responsibilities by doctor, surgeon, dentist, nurse and any other medical professional in such a way that it deviates from the accepted standard of medical or healthcare. For an example, if a doctor provides sub-standard treatment in respect to the accepted medical standard, then it would be assumed that the doctor has failed to perform his or her duty and it can be declared as negligence.

There are times when medical negligence becomes medical malpractice when the below standard treatment of the doctor causes any injury to the patient and the condition of the patient becomes worse. Sometimes due to negligence by doctors, unexpected complications arise which requires additional health treatment in order to cure the patient.

Improper Diagnosis

Improper diagnosis is one of the most common medical complaints as reported by patients in India. It is said that an improper diagnosis is done when a competent doctor has conducted "differential diagnosis" which could be questioned and opined by the experts in this field.

Firstly a doctor lists the possible medical issues that the patient can have. Then tests are conducted on the patient and finally a possible definitive medical diagnosis would be determined by the doctor. After taking up the diagnosis, if the doctor fails to achieve the expected degree of care, then the patient must prove it. Doctors may fail to achieve the medical standard of care in many ways. For an instance, the doctor might fail to recognize and realize the urgency of one or more possible medical problems and hence delay in the diagnosis & treatment is caused. A nurse could fail to provide appropriate diagnostic medication while altering the patient’s response to the medication and misleading the doctor to assume the wrong conclusion. In such cases, the consumer has the right to file a complaint against the medical professionals as per Consumer Protection Act.

Medicine Delivery issues

Medicine delivery refers to the distribution of medicine through medical professionals, representatives and other kinds of distributors. The most common issue or grievance regarding medicine delivery is that it is not delivered on time.

There are cases when the required medicines are not available at the stores or in the medical institutions. Even there are people who take advantage of this urgency and sell the medicine at a higher rate. Also in today's digital world, patients are buying medicines online but many times they are unable to get these medicines delivered to them on time which causes inconvenience and medical complications. Now-a-days a lot of medicine delivery complaints are filed by consumers who are opting to buy medicines online due to COVID pandemic.

Wrong Treatment

Wrong treatment is another frequent medical complaint, similar to medical negligence by doctor. When an individual opts for services in any medical room, clinic or hospital, the initial step after admission is the diagnosis required. It is critical yet important to diagnose the symptoms correctly and eventually provide proper medical treatment to the patients.

But if the patient is not treated accordingly due to any negligence in the diagnosis, the doctor or the hospital would be liable for any further damages caused as a result of wrong treatment.

There are even cases where wrong treatment has been done intentionally by the doctor or hospital in order to force the patient to take more and more treatments and tests. Also, the medical negligence can result in pursuing the wrong treatment by the medical professionals.

In any of the above circumstances, the medical entities are liable and the patients can register a complaint against any of these issues faced. If the claims of the complaint are found to be justified then further action could be taken with the help of consumer court or consumer forum.

Unjustified Bills

Often it is observed that medical bills do not show the exact reason for which the money was charged. There can be cases where itemized bills show charges that come from nowhere. Some cases are where medical bills show services which were not even provided to the patient or the service is included in the bill but was not informed and was not supposed to be given by the hospital or doctor.

For instance, one patient received a bill for leg surgery that included charges for blood tests of the newborn.

The tricky part applied in these bills is the technical language that most of the people are unaware of. This is why there remains the tendency to overlook the charges which are included falsely. Many times, people do not realize and they just pay for it.

For any of the issues mentioned above, a patient can register a complaint against the hospital or doctor.

How to resolve medical complaints?

To protect the consumer rights in respect to the rights of the patients, Consumer Protection Act (CPA) was formulated in 1986 and the medical profession was brought under the purview of the act in 1995. All the patients who are making payments for any health services were recognized under the definition of “Consumer” in this Act as a step towards consumer protection.

If you have a complaint regarding the improper care in the hospital then you should contact the State Survey Agency. If you have a complaint about the poor conditions of the hospital you can contact the State Department of Health Services. However, if you have a complaint against any particular doctor of the hospital then you should contact the State Medical Board.

In situations where hospitals or medical professionals have ignored and rejected the claims of the consumers, they can exercise their consumer rights and take their case to consumer forums. Consumers can register a complaint in the nearest police station and the State Medical Council.

Moreover, if the main aim of the patient is to seek compensation, then a patient should file a consumer complaint as this way the case can be finished at the earliest possible date.

In order to validate the complaint the consumer needs to collect all the medical records they have received. According to the Medical Council of India, the patient is supposed to get all medical records within 72 hours from the time and date of the appointment.

1. File a complaint with Police & State Medical Council:

A complaint must be filed against any kind of medical negligence with the local police and the State Medical Council. The police are supposed to send it to the State Medical Council first. The Council then checks if the complaint is justified or not and a case is transferred to different consumer courts according to the nature of the case.

If the council finds out that the patient's condition is serious then the doctor’s license is suspended for a particular period and according to proof and witnesses, judgment is given.

If the consumer is not satisfied with the judgment given by the council then it can appeal to the Medical Council of India. If still the consumer is not happy with the judgment then they can appeal for their disputes to the National Consumer Dispute Redressal Commission.

2. Send Legal Notice:
A patient can send legal notice to Doctors or Hospitals in case they are unable to resolve his complaint via Medical Council. Taking legal action is one of the efficient ways to handle the issue legally. Check below to know how to send a legal notice to a doctor / hospital?

Step 1: Firstly, get a legal notice drafted by a lawyer.
Step 2: Check it properly and make sure it is signed by a lawyer.
Step 3: Keep a copy of it for future purposes.
Step 4: Send the legal notice to the Doctor / Hospital by registered post.
Step 5: Keep the slip or delivery report for evidence.

3. File consumer forum case:
Consumer forum deals with consumer complaints and you should approach the consumer forum if you feel that your rights as a consumer have been violated. The consumer courts help the patients to get the eligible compensation for the damage caused to them. Please note that consumer courts can not punish the doctor or medical practitioner who is guilty, it can only provide the compensation.

If a doctor or a hospital is not responding to your complaints even after sending legal notice by a lawyer then you should file a case against them in a consumer court.

Here is how you can file a case in the consumer court?

Step 1: Intimate the aggrieved party via legal notice.
Step 2: Draft the consumer complaint
Step 3: Attach all the relevant documents and proofs to support your complaint.
Step 4: Select the appropriate consumer court for filing the complaint.
Step 5: Pay the prescribed court fee that is required to be paid along with the complaint.
Step 6: Submit the case along with the affidavit & fees in the court.

If you feel uncomfortable doing all this yourself, then you should use the services provided by Voxya to take legal action against the doctor or hospital. We can send Legal Notice and prepare a Case for filing in consumer court.

Most Common Issue Reported for Medical Complaints

Medical Negligence

Medicine Delivery issues

Unjustified Bills

Improper Diagnosis

Wrong treatment

Non replacement and cessation of services from seller (Trivitron Healthcare Private Limited) ^Open

We purchased a c-arm fluroscopy machine from Trivitron in **** and faced detector related issues and poor image quality issues within *-* months of purchase. Since October ****, the service personel have visited more than ** times with no per...

Oct 15, 2024 by Gayathri

Mis behavior of Medicover staff on pregnant women (Medicover Woman Child Hospital) ^Open

My pregnant wife and I visited the hospital emergency on a possible miscarriage situation, this was an emergency and needed * injections to control the bleeding and sustain the pregnancy, the situation in the emergency was horrible, people were...

Oct 09, 2024 by Sharath Karthikeya

Insurance claim was rejected and wrongful policy cancellation (Hdfc Ergo General Insurance Company Ltd) ^Open

My Father (policy holder) was admitted in Shri Shankar Nursing Home, Bangalore for Dengue fever for * Days from *th Aug **** to *th Aug **** after the blood investigation reports suggested Dengue positive and doctor suggested for admission imme...

Oct 03, 2024 by Waseem Baig A

Cheating by Apollo hospital (Apollo Hospital Delhi) ^Open

The Apollo hospital gave me an estimate of * days package which I paid. It had * items and under item * charges for surgeon , asstt surgeon , anasthesist and operation theater charges. But the time of discharge they change all these charges hi...

Sep 23, 2024 by Mukhtar Ahmad

Healthifyme is not cancelling my subscription (Healthifyme ) ^Open

I have took healthifyme subscription. I was severely fell ill with their plan and rushed to hospital. Later my therapist also said that diet is giving me ED and I should stop diet now. Point to note is, diet plan is not catered to my needs, I l...

Sep 14, 2024 by Anjali D

Doctor didn t respond neither the money was refunded (Lybrate) ^Open

I have paid Rs.***/- to Lybrate app for consultation with Dr. Snigdhodip Saha online on **-**-**. But the doctor has not responded yet (till **.**pm, *-*-**). I have contacted Lybrate through online chatting, but they didn't respond. Relevant S...

Sep 07, 2024 by Subhajit Sarkar

Wrong diagnosis and treatment (Fortis Hospital Bannerghatta Road) ^Open

My daughter had fever for * days and then it resolved but she continued to be weak and had body pains all over her body. After about a week, when she was still weak, I took her Fortis Hospital to consult our regular pediatrician. After evalua...

Sep 06, 2024 by Abdul Hafeez

Package not delivered (Pharmeasy) ^Open

I ordered insulin for my father around *:**pm and was supposed to receive the same before **pm. But when I checked the status online it's showing that they delivered my medicine but I'm yet to receive the same...

Aug 30, 2024 by NUMAAN MAHMOOD

Insurance Claim Fully not settled (Oriental insurance company Limited) ^Open

I had been working with Axis Bank for the period **-**-**** to **-**-**** and my mother has been covered under bank's Group Mediclaim Policy till **th September,**** even though I was relieved from the services of the bank. My mother had underg...

Aug 26, 2024 by SOMAKUMAR S

Fradualent Rehab Center Killed my Grandmother (Suvitas Holistic Healthcare Private Limited) ^Open

I am writing with utmost concern and disappointment regarding the tragic passing of my grandmother, Ms. Vedavathi Gondi, due to the horrible negligence in the care provided by Suvitas/HCAH/TCC. The lack of proper medical attention, including th...

Aug 25, 2024 by Nagender Reddy

Health Insurance Reimbursement not done (Star Health Allied Insurance Company) ^Open

I am writing to file a formal complaint regarding the mishandling of my mother's health insurance claim and the subsequent lack of response from Star Health Insurance. Background My mother was hospitalized for treatment of a neuro infection a...

Aug 21, 2024 by Akshay Rathnavas

Kolors Health Care Kolors weight loss treatment amount refund (Kolors Health Care) ^Open

Hi My wife had enrolled in colors for weight loss treatment. after ** session she dont lose any weight, insted she started gaining. i have proof of payment made to the colors. Please help me to confron these scammers....

Aug 15, 2024 by Mansur

Non fullfiment of required information to customer (CERAGEM Training Experience Centre Outer Circle Road ) ^Open

The Company provides spine related solutions by using a massage machine master v* worth *.** lakhs. Promote sales by giving lectures but never tell to consult a doctor before using the machine.User Manual also provided in the sealed packet then...

Aug 06, 2024 by mohammad iqbal

VLCC Poor Service Denial of EMI Refund Despite Unused Sessions (Vlcc Health Care Limited) ^Open

In January ****, I sought acne treatment at VLCC Madhuram Branch in Mumbai. However, my experience quickly soured due to various issues. Firstly, crucial treatment details were only provided verbally, lacking proper documentation. This included...

Jul 28, 2024 by KSS Mythili

SUBSCRIPTION NO LONGER WORKING WITH KENKO (KENKO HEALTHCARE) ^Open

I have taken Kenko Care plan for ** months which includes OPD ( doctor consultation and SOHO products). I am trying to place SOHO orders since last ** days but I am not able to do the same. I am getting error. I have escalated the same to griev...

Jul 24, 2024 by Hitesh Kumar Gupta

Incorrect reports from pharmeasy (Pharmeasy Diagonistics) ^Open

Pharmeasy has reported incorrect creatinine reports multiple times due to which we have done multiple surgeries and different kinds of procedures which have costed us a fortune....

Jul 18, 2024 by Varun Goradia

Medicines Missing Dated July 2022 Time 4 (Apollo Pharmacy) ^Open

Following medicines missing from the order as the payment has already done mentioned against each medicine i.e.: *. Otrivin Oxy Fast Relief: INR ***.** *. Pantop ** MG: INR ***.** *. Silosure-D Cap **: INR **** ...

Jul 17, 2024 by Anjali Banga

They have done huge fraud with me and have cheated me by taking my money and not giving service for (Vlcc Health Care Limited) ^Open

They have done huge fraud with me and have cheated me by taking my money and not giving service for it....

Jul 13, 2024 by Manmeet kaur

Refund not initiated (Apollo Pharmacy) ^Open

I had ordered a medicine to be delivered in two days on July *. The ETA was July *, then it got delayed to July *, now they keep delaying the order and not refunding the amount...

Jul 12, 2024 by Shyam Sundar D

Merchant isn t helping in resolving issue (Avataar skincare technologies ) ^Open

Avataar’s sales rep lied to me and made sign up for their laser session saying you can take a loan of **k, take one trial session and if you don’t like it you can cancel it anytime. After taking first session of **th July, I contacted them ...

Jul 11, 2024 by Neha Mishra

Refund unprocessed for unutilized premium appointment (Manipal Hospitals HAL Bangalore) ^Closed

Hello, I booked a premium appointment worth Rs **** with Manipal Hospital HAL airport road on **Oct**** for **Oct**** **.**pm slot (Internal medicine -Dr (Col) R D Holla) via Manipal hospital application. On **st October morning around *:**am ...

Oct 27, 2024 by Shalini K

Incomplete medical report from drlal path labs (Dr Lal Path Labs) ^Closed

Client Details: Patient Name: Mr. Sher Singh Age & Sex: ** years / Male Invoice Cum Receipt No: OIDL****************** Lab No: ********* Date & Time of Sample Submission: **-**-****, **:**:** Referring Doctor: Dr. Rekha Bansal Contact ...

Jul 19, 2024 by Ashwani

They are not giving me response about my refund (Oxxy Health care Ltd) ^Closed

One agent gave me Oxxy healthcare medical plan on ** May **** by giving misleading information about this company. after purchasing their policy by paying premium i just got a email in which they did not send me anything about their company pol...

Jul 05, 2024 by kapil vashistha

Did not receive complete refund (Cult Fit) ^Closed

I paid the membership amount of *****.** for swimming classes for both the kids. For one kid it was ***** and for * kids total amount was to be *****. However, there was a discount and the total payment for * kids was *****.**. I used my credit...

May 18, 2024 by Rajalakshmi K R

Amount Paid But No refund (Muscleblaze) ^Closed

I paid for the products ** days ago via their Mobile application but after payment was successfull their application crashed and Order was not confirmed! Its been ** days now , i have not received my refund. They keep on telling me to wait *-...

Dec 23, 2023 by SHIVANG SINGH PAWAR

Complaint Regarding PCC NEO TOWN Apollo Diagnostics Centre Deficiency in Service and agreed refund w (apollo diagnostics ) ^Closed

Dear Sir/Madam, This is Karthick Rajendran from Electronic City Phase-*, Bangalore. I have booked Lab test on Dec **-**** morning at *:**AM at PCC Neo Town Apollo Diagnostics Branch and given Blood Sample (Fasting Before Food) and Urine Samp...

Dec 17, 2023 by Karthick Rajendran

I received cracked bottle of Syzygium Jambolanum Q (Wilmar Schwabe India) ^Closed

I ordered multiple medicine bottle. One of the package contained * glass bottle **ml each. One bottle was cracked and medicine was spilled on the label and liquid level was less in the bottle. I filed complaint to Healthmug on ** Sep **** as so...

Oct 07, 2023 by Gaurav Sonar

Hair botox (Complexion ) ^Closed

They spoiled my hair , promised me with a hair treat that makes your hair straight but didn’t happen like that then they promised to re do my hair which again they denied ...

Sep 15, 2023 by Divya jain

Poor orthodontics treatment (Aastha Hospital Hisar Near sewak sabha Hospital Rishi Nagar Hisar 125001) ^Closed

I have done orthodontics treatment for Astha dental clinic Hisar from Dr. Amit Pliania.He extracted * teeth for the Braces treatment.He said that the gap are filled when teeth move backwards.But after completion of treatment he leaves a huge ga...

Aug 10, 2023 by Priyanka Poonia

Product Missing Amount not Refunded since more than 2 months (Herbalife nutrition) ^Closed

Respected sir/ma'am Myself Kailash Puri Goswami my Associate IDW*C*******. I ordered a Herbalife product by the suggestion of Ritu Jain Ma'am for FAT Loss and ordered for the same on **th May,**** by order no. ********** and Invoice no. JA****...

Aug 08, 2023 by Kailash Puri Goswami

Complaint Regarding Unfair Treatment Unethical Trade Practices and Forced Treatment (Toothsi) ^Closed

Iam writing to seek your legal counsel and representation regarding a distressing matter I encountered with Tootshi (makeo)., a company involved in dental aligner sales. It has come to my attention that their business practices involve unfair t...

Aug 06, 2023 by Dhileep Kumar

Misinformation and fraud (Pristym care) ^Closed

The hospital where me and my family was admitted, didn't provide the services as they told before. The pristym care employee told me that the patient will be discharged in * hr but the staff was not present, not even the doctor was available on...

Jun 08, 2023 by Ahmed

Defective product (Muscleblaze) ^Closed

I ordered an **g protein shake pack of four and received a defective spilling product. After opening the package i found out that the entire packing was leaking from inside and it also spilled on some important papers of mine kept on the table....

May 08, 2023 by Navneet Fatehpuria

Rude Insulting Behaviour of a Shop Keeper (The Drug World ) ^Closed

Dear Sir, My name is Moloy Chakraborty i am from subhasgram Today **th April **** I purchases one Neopeptine child Syrup from Drug World medicine shope in Subhashgram Kolkata ****** so after payment done I focused that medicine coverd pac...

Apr 27, 2023 by Moloy Chakraborty

Permanent Damage to my skin (Kaya Skin Clinic) ^Closed

During the laser hair removal treatment, my tattoo was lasered and a part of it has faded permanently. I experienced excruciating pain until it healed which took about a month. The worst part was the staff's reaction to their mistake. First...

Apr 14, 2023 by ESHA KARAN

Didnt get my Refund (Toothsi) ^Closed

After watching an ad for free consultation by tootshi, I called them up for my dental checkup. After dental check up, their representative gave me price estimate of Rs. **k for dental alignment work. However, they also told me that there is ...

Apr 10, 2023 by Reethu Palukuri

Not given original bill for lab test (Jagat Pathology Centre Near Chaka Block Naini Prayagraj 211008) ^Closed

Jagat Pathology Centre CMO registration number RMEE******* is refusing to give bill for blood test. After asking he given receipt which is without mentioning GST/Registration number...

Mar 19, 2023 by Pankaj Kumar Mishra

Not giving test bill (Jagat Pathology Centre Near Chaka Block Naini Prayagraj 211008) ^Closed

I get blood test on ** Mar **** from Jagat Pathology Centre near Chaka block Naini Prayagraj CMO registration number RMEE*******. He is taking higher rate of tests after asking of Bill he refused to give Bill. Given only ordinary receipt withou...

Mar 19, 2023 by Pankaj Kumar Mishra

Blood test report not sent after 4 days (Netmeds India) ^Closed

Almost ** hours I still do not get the soft copy of...

Mar 10, 2023 by P Mitra

MFine vendor thyrocare took money and not delivering reports (Mfine) ^Closed

I booked a full body test from mFine, the vendor being thyrocare. Money has been debited from my account. Yet, the vendor is neither sending the reports nor is acknowledging the payment. All the while in mFine, the status is 'paid'. T...

Mar 09, 2023 by Dhaivya buch