The National Consumer Commission has sounded out medical practitioners from indulging in adventurism, an euphemism for venturing into areas beyond their competence. The Commission made this observation while deciding the case of Pawan Kumar Gupta of Rishikesh. Gupta had visited a dentist to get rid of a niggling upper molar, but thanks to the adventurist doctor, ended up losing his life.

Advocate Manoj Swarup who contested the case said Gupta had got his tooth extracted from Dr Sardana of Rishikesh on February 7, 1994. But soon inflammation developed as the dentist had ignored the fact that Gupta was a diabetic.

When Gupta’s condition started deteriorating, Sardana referred him to Dr S.K. Jain. On February 15, Jain put him on a fresh dose of medicine. However, he too overlooked Gupta’s diabetes. Three days later, on the patient’s insistence, Jain referred him to another doctor, R.K. Bhardwaj, who detected that the patient had diabetes.

But by then, the inflammation on the right side of Gupta’s face had so worsened that he could hardly open his mouth or the right eye.

On February 18, he was admitted to Chauhan Nursing Home in Rishikesh on the advice of Jain and Bhardwaj. The pus was getting accumulated in the affected area. Though the resident doctor at the nursing home expressed confidence that he could attend to it, Gupta’s wife Kamlesh insisted on sending word for Jain.

Jain assured Kamlesh that the complication would be taken care of and that a passage for the pus would be made. Kamlesh claimed that no written consent was taken from her as her husband was rushed to the operating theatre on February 19.

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