AIIMS Rishikesh Ordered To Pay Rs 60,000 Over Wrong HIV-Positive Report

The Uttarakhand State Consumer Dispute Redressal Commission has upheld an order directing the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Rishikesh, to pay Rs 60,000 to a man who was recorded as HIV positive without supporting clinical evidence. The compensation includes Rs 50,000 for mental agony and harassment and Rs 10,000 towards litigation expenses. The state commission dismissed AIIMS Rishikesh's appeal against the earlier district commission order.

The case dates back to July 2014, when the patient was admitted to AIIMS Rishikesh after being referred from another medical facility. During his treatment, HIV-positive was allegedly entered repeatedly in his medical records, including his discharge summary. The patient later underwent HIV testing at two medical facilities in Dehradun, where the reports found him HIV-negative.

The reports from Shri Guru Ram Rai Institute of Medical and Health Sciences and Shri Mahant Indiresh Hospital were subsequently submitted before the consumer commission. AIIMS Rishikesh argued that it did not have an Integrated Counselling and Testing Centre at the time and had neither conducted an HIV test nor officially declared the patient HIV positive.

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The state commission, however, found that AIIMS' own medical records contradicted this position. In its August 17 order, Commission President Kumkum Rani and member C.M. Singh noted that the patient's discharge summary and treatment records repeatedly described him as HIV positive, while the institute failed to establish that the entry was supported by a valid diagnostic test.

The commission observed that HIV is a serious and sensitive medical condition requiring caution and adherence to established diagnostic protocols. It held that recording a person as HIV positive in official medical records without supporting clinical evidence amounted to serious negligence. Such an unverified medical record, the commission noted, could result in mental suffering, emotional distress and social stigma while also affecting public trust in medical institutions.

Finding no grounds to interfere with the 2019 order of the Haridwar District Consumer Commission, the state commission dismissed AIIMS Rishikesh's appeal. The earlier compensation order was therefore upheld, requiring the institute to pay the patient Rs 50,000 for mental agony and harassment and Rs 10,000 towards litigation expenses.

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