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

Negligence of medical treatment (Capital Hospital (Orissa)) ^Open

Respected Sir/Ma'am, Greetings! I had a severe accident on **/**/**** near Khandagiri Chhak, I went to the Capital Hospital, Bhubaneswar for the treatment. The duty doctor (name unknown )told me that there's a fracture in my collarbone and s...

Jul 03, 2023 by Chittaranjan Patra

INSURANCE CLAIM REJECTED (Star Health Allied Insurance Company) ^Open

CASE DETAILS SUBJECT: CLAIM FOR ELBOW REVISION OPERATION EXPENSES REJECTED BY STAR HEALTH INSURANCE CO. AND THREAT BY COMPANY TO DISCONTINUE COVERAGE. Background info: The operation was for removing a previously implanted metallic elbow j...

Jul 03, 2023 by ALWYN PETER RODRIGUES

Wrong damaged item received (Netmeds.com) ^Open

I ordered Folliserum. Received Follirich. It was damaged. I had sent pictures of damaged, wrong medicine to the company id. the company claims that it has not received it and is fooling me. I have attached the mails of pictures of the damage...

Jun 30, 2023 by Parvathy Ramachandran

Poor Hygiene Negligence Misinformation Mismanagement (Apollo Hospital Hyderabad) ^Open

Apollo Hospital, Secunderabad has left me scarred from trusting any Healthcare system. I went there for a treatment concerning urinary stricture. A small surgical procedure was recommended and they said my insurance would cover it. I have done ...

Jun 24, 2023 by Simon Felix Fernando

No care (Laproscopy) ^Open

Yesterday was my laproscopy and hysteroscopy +tubes test.. At first the doctor said that u have come on an empty stomach at * am fr the surgery.. we went there and they saud to make a file and a blue card so that they can go for further process...

Jun 04, 2023 by Aanchal dhuria

Refund not credited (Kaya Skin Clinic) ^Open

Hello Sir/Madam, I am Seema Rani. I had visited Kaya Clinic Jalandhar End Dec **** for pigmentation treatment. Dr Smitha Bhatia Advised to take package of * PRP sessions + * Laser Sessions and * peels session for best results. We were very co...

May 30, 2023 by Seema Rani

Skin care Treatment and side effects (Vcare Skin Clinic) ^Open

• That undersigned is a consumer as I had Suntan on my face hence, visited Praba's VCare Health Clinic (P) Ltd., *-* MNJ Complex SKS Hospital Road Opp. Ponnusamy Gounder Thirumana Mandapam, Kalliapillai Thoopu, Fairlands, Salem, Tamil Nadu **...

May 17, 2023 by MEENATSHI SUNDARAM

Rembursment of medical treatment (Manipal Cigna Health insurance ) ^Open

Rembursment are not accepting. File submited dated **th November ****. ...

May 12, 2023 by Virsingh Anand

Refund (Labrada nutrition) ^Open

I am looking for the refund since long- and no one reverting on their support mail ID and even customer support agent gives same answer (Will be processed, my senior is in meeting from a week) Order ID- #30278...

May 10, 2023 by Lovnish

Refund money (Toothsi AMPA orthodontics ) ^Open

I had paid ***** rupees down payment and ***** by emi for * months) for aligners in toothsi.Due to some reasons I want to cancel the process but they are not responding at all.My contacting person ovaise is not receiving my call from last ** da...

May 02, 2023 by Pawan Agrahari

Wrong Lenses by MedPlus Opticals (Medplus india) ^Open

*. I placed an order of Progressive lenses (Lenses: Vx Physio*.*.*.** Crizal ePRO BCT) on the date **-March-**** with Medplus Opticians, SriRam Nagar, Kondapur, Botanical Gardens Road,Hyderabad-******. They took wrong PD measurements and gave w...

Apr 27, 2023 by Leela Ch

Due to casual diagnosis by Sr Doctors I have lost my mother life my mother she lost her life (Tata Main Hospital Jamshedpur) ^Open

Dear Sir, Patient name Runu Chowdhury age ** yrs under employee of Tata steel was admitted in Tata main hospital at Jamshedpur on dtd.**/**/**, at medicine unit *B ward bed no -** .she was undergoing with the problem of IBD, UTi, deficiency ...

Apr 25, 2023 by Saibal Kumar Chowdhury

Incorrect billing (Apollo Hospital) ^Open

Hi, I was admitted in Apollo hospital on **th March and took some basic treatment for which hospital billed me **,***/-. I requested to give some discount as the charges where too high for basic treatment. Excluding room for just Half day...

Apr 15, 2023 by Mh

Refund (Healthifyme ) ^Open

Dear [Healthifyme Service Representative], I am writing to express my dissatisfaction with the product/service that I received from your company and to request a refund for my purchase. On [**-**-****], I made a purchase of [product/service...

Apr 03, 2023 by Harshdeep Singh

Heavy hair fall and brittle hair after hair smoothening (New Angel Beautyparlour) ^Open

Got bad experience from new angel beauty parlour,Kattappana during hair smoothening and heavy hair fall and hair got brittle after this. The entire team and their work is not professional. The owner and their employees not accept their mistake ...

Mar 23, 2023 by Dona Augustine

PACKAGE NOT DELIVERED (Medi2all Com) ^Open

I placed an order for medicines on Medi*All.com on **th Aug **** and made payment of INR ****.** through paytm. Order No. MA****** It’s been more than * months the order did not come to me . I wrote so many emails and messages on their cu...

Mar 21, 2023 by HITESH GUPTA

Amount Paid but not reflected in their system No service provided (Toothsi) ^Open

I took a *D scan on **st Feb ****. On same day i paid the full amount for the aligners. The transaction is successful at my end, and my Bajaj EMI has also started. But no confirmation received from toothsi. ...

Mar 21, 2023 by Prajakta Harshal Naik

Rejection of Health Insurance Claim (Acko ) ^Open

We had declared our pre-existing disease while purchasing policy online. There Policy Document doesnot carry any details of Pre-Existing Disease. Only mentioned is zero Waiting period for pre-existing disease. We filed the claim for reimburseme...

Mar 15, 2023 by Chirag Haria

Injury during blood collection (Aarthi scans and labs) ^Open

My wife went for OGCT blood test on March *th At Madiapakkam centre, during blood collection one of junior staff took inproperly blood on left hand, as result the left hand is blood clotted, we visited the centre and asking about this by carele...

Mar 07, 2023 by Sivasubramanian

Freestyle libre flash glucose monitor system Apollo Pharmcy chennai (Apollo 24 7 Online Pharmacy) ^Open

Freestyle libre flash glucose monitor system (Apollo Pharmcy chennai) I Ordered Freestyle Libre Flash Glucose Monitor System Online Apollo Pharmacy Chennai And Paid Rs.****- **th No-**** After ** Min. I Found That The Purchase Will Not Help T...

Mar 05, 2023 by SUNDER VENKATACHALAM

Package not delivered and now not able to contact (Lioncrown) ^Closed

I found an ad in Instagram regarding Designer Masks, the company is Lioncrown India, a Delhi based company. WhatsApp contact number is **********. Initially they tried to deliver the items and told it could not be delivered. Now they are untrac...

Aug 24, 2020 by Juvin

No Delivery and no refund (Myprotein India) ^Closed

I ordered Impact whey protein isolate from Myprotein on July **th, ****. order no- *********, worth Rs ****. This order was not delivered to me. On the tracking website by Delhivery, I could see that my order was listed as "Not Picked by the sh...

Aug 24, 2020 by Abhigyan Agarwala

Charging extra money (Naturals Beauty Salon India Private Limited) ^Closed

Today iam going this for my wife face clean up that normal charges is *** in menu card After the cleanup they charge ** % tax + hygiene charge *** rs (total *** ruppees for just cleanup ) Not giving any gloves ,mask ,using only disposable ...

Aug 22, 2020 by Arun

Reports not prepared (Sri Mata Vaishno Devi Narayana Multispeciality Hospital) ^Closed

Dear Sir We done one operation on ** aug **** and same day we also do MRI for Brain as per doctor(Dr. Raj paul) advice in Naryana Katra jammu & and kashmir. I follow up since one week ago today doctor called me ask your report still not gene...

Aug 22, 2020 by Atul

Received damaged product (Kaya Skin Clinic) ^Closed

I had order Kaya Skin Clinic Advanced Skin Care Kit and recieved the damaged product. The packaging was broken and the contents of the bottles had leaked inside the box itself. Half of the contents had spilled out, there's no point in keeping i...

Aug 22, 2020 by Pooja Mishra

Wrong tablets delivered (Pharmeasy) ^Closed

I ordered * strips of istamet **/***mg in pharmeasy mobile app , they delivered * strip of **)***mg and another one having the stickers of **/***mg but actually the tablets are the composition of **/****mg. They wrongly stickered over a ****mg ...

Aug 21, 2020 by Bruno Robert

Fraud by medlife (Medlife) ^Closed

I received empty bottle of keraglo men and when complained nothing happened they just took back the bottle and didnot provide refund....

Aug 19, 2020 by Rohit Ranjan

Hospital doesn t allow the attendar for the patience (Sindhu hospital Camproad chennai ) ^Closed

The hospital doesn’t allow the attendar with the patience Even for Eye check up...

Aug 15, 2020 by Elangovan Ramu

Medlife Refund has not done for the returned medicines for order and (Medlife) ^Closed

For the below two order number's i have raised return requests on **th July **** and today is **th August, almost ** days now but still my refund has not been initiated yet. Although the return pickup has done on *th August and the it reached t...

Aug 14, 2020 by Biren Kumar Bhuyan

Vibes healthcare not returning advance (Vibes healthcare limited) ^Closed

Due to Pandemic i required money urgently but vibes is not returning the money i have not availed any services ...

Aug 13, 2020 by Aniket

Delay the order fr to not seriously care for my order as per email just reply goal goal message (Netmeds.com) ^Closed

Dear Sir, I would like to inform you that I have ordered a medicine from **st july **** still now not received this product. The above mentioned order id has total medicine devided * part, first * part received as per promises time cause they...

Aug 13, 2020 by Raju Sen

Fake medison and using abusive words (Krishna pharma) ^Closed

Dear Sir, Greetings of the day! *st order on **/July order placed: I have placed an order to Mr. Gagan choudhary, neon termin. Half of the bottles are fake and the same has been informed to Mr. Gagan. He apologized and thould me ...

Aug 13, 2020 by Vignesh

Faulty product delivered and reimbursement was not done (Takshila opticals Andheri east mumbai) ^Closed

We purchased a crizal lens from this shop, we were given assurance of the quality and reimbursement. However the product was faulty, we did not accept the product and asked for reimbursement. we were asked to wait and then after numerous follow...

Aug 12, 2020 by Alkesh sharma

Hospital Not providing information on RTI (Max Healthcare Mohali phase 6 Punjab) ^Closed

I need Corona Report of test held on July ** and hospital is not providing details ...

Aug 12, 2020 by Abhilash Sharma

Medical negligence (Yogananda hospital ) ^Closed

Doctor has prescribed breastmilk stoping tablet after getting covid positive report. Covid will go after ** days but doctors stopped breast milk completely. Now baby is suffering without milk. ...

Aug 11, 2020 by Ramya

No information about my purchased order and no tracking facilities (HealthKing India ) ^Closed

...

Aug 10, 2020 by Mamta

Ordered Package not delivered no response (Huda Beauty foundation) ^Closed

Had ordered a huda foundation in March , paid online amount ****/- , but there is no response after that till date. Coudnt even find the site anywhere...fixchase.com....

Jul 30, 2020 by Imran khan

Refund not recieved (Medlife) ^Closed

I have ordered medicine in medlife worth Rs **** on **th July ****....**.** a.m. it's almost * days I have still not received the refund. Whenever I call the customer care each one of them says a different thing that it would be refunded within...

Jul 30, 2020 by ANTARA GHOSH

Refund Amout not yet received (Medlife) ^Closed

The order has been delivered on **st July'**** on the modified order from Medlife's end due to our of stock such items but I had paid for the Actual Order which was greater than the modified one. Hence the refund amount has still not yet been r...

Jul 30, 2020 by SANJOY BOSR

Refund not received (Medlife) ^Closed

I haven't received a refund of *** for my lab test which was done in May ****. Order id : ******* My money was deducted twice....

Jul 29, 2020 by ruchita kapdule