Observing that it is an era of taking justice on a golden platter to the doorstep of victims rather than wait for them to approach the court, the Madras High Court Bench here on Thursday directed the State government to pay a compensation of Rs.3 lakh each to seven women who lost vision in one of their eyes after a cataract surgery.
Justices S. Nagamuthu and M.V. Muralidaran passed the order on a public interest litigation petition filed by activist S. Rameshkumar seeking compensation for the illiterate women who had undergone the surgery at the District Headquarters Hospital at Tenkasi in Tirunelveli district on April 10, 2013 under the National Programme for Control of Blindness.
Since the Additional Secretary, Health and Family Welfare Department, had admitted in his counter affidavit to the PIL petition that the women could have lost vision due to use of a substandard Ringer lactate solution to wash their eyes after the surgery, the Bench said in such a case, the State would be vicariously liable to compensate the victims.
Says it is time to take justice to the doorstep of victims than wait for them to approach court
