Manipal Hospital — medical negligence

Address:

Palam Vihar New Delhi

On 13th October 2023, my father underwent knee surgery under the care of Dr Anubhav Gulati. Regrettably, the outcome of the procedure has been nothing short of disastrous. It has been six months since the surgery and he has been experiencing severe and ongoing pain and inflammation in his knee and surrounding areas which have significantly impaired his mobility and quality of life. Prior to the surgery in October 2023, my father was a vibrant, active and healthy man running his multinational businesses and travelling the world. Despite knee pain, he would barely take any painkillers. Post surgery, my father is a shadow of his former self.

What is even more distressing is the manner in which Dr Anubhav Gulati has handled his case. Despite the evident post surgery complications and his persistent complaints of chronic pain and swelling as evidenced by the numerous, subsequent visits to Manipal Hospital Palam Vihar, Dr Anubhav Gulati has denied any liability for the outcome of the surgery. Instead of addressing the physical issues at hand, he dismissed my father's concerns and attempted to attribute the symptoms to psychological factors insinuating that his pain is merely a manifestation of anxiety. Furthermore, Dr Anubhav Gulati's actions have far extended beyond mere dismissal of his physical symptoms. He has attempted to coerce my father into seeking neurological and psychiatric evaluation, suggesting that his complaints were indicative of mental health issues rather than genuine physical distress. Additionally, he prescribed antidepressants, a wholly inappropriate course of action given the nature of his symptoms. The neurologist recommended by Dr Anubhav Gulati told my father there was nothing at all wrong with his mental health, that my father did not have anxiety and there was certainly no need for antidepressants.

Dr Anubhav Gulati had prescribed some 16 painkillers/anti-inflammatories for pain control post surgery which caused my father severe constipation for over a fortnight. In fact, we had to seek medical intervention for the constipation. He had also arranged for a physiotherapist to attend daily immediately post discharge. The medication did absolutely nothing to control the pain and the physio sessions only served to worsen the swelling. In fact, at one such session, my father's knee ballooned up to such an extent that the alarmed physiotherapist himself told us that there was something very wrong with the knee and that my father should refrain from having physiotherapy until further notice and he left mid-session.

Dr Anubhav Gulati also prescribed an opioid patch for 5 days which only served to cause massive hallucinations, sweating and fainting resulting in rushing my father to Emergency at Manipal Hospital Palam Vihar. Upon arrival at the hospital, my father was seen by Dr Mohit who, despite witnessing my father passing out in the chair opposite him, simply kept repeating that we needed to get the billing sorted as my father required an ECG, x-ray, ultrasound, BP and sugar test. He would only attend to my father once the billing was complete. It was a most distressing and frightening experience as we had no idea why my father was losing consciousness yet with my father not entirely awake, Dr Mohit insisted that these tests were necessary. I called Dr Anubhav Gulati to urgently attend to my father which he did and upon arrival at Dr Mohit's office, he wordlessly pulled off the patch and my father was conscious within minutes. Why had Dr Anubhav Gulati not previously advised my father of the possible side effects of overdosing on such opioid patches?

Moreover, Dr Anubhav Gulati specifically arranged for his personal acquaintance, a physiotherapist by the name of Dr Surinder Mor who runs his own clinic and does not undertake home visits, to visit my father at his home daily. This individual, presumably under Dr Anubhav Gulati's influence, also attempted to discredit my father's physical symptoms by dismissing the very obvious symptoms of pain and swelling, making my father believe that it was all in his head, further exacerbating his distress and undermining the validity of his concerns. I have recordings of such sessions to support this.

Given Dr Anubhav Gulati's refusal to admit any negligence on his part and his stance on having fitted the correct size implant, we were forced to seek second, third, fourth & fifth medical opinions from renowned orthopedic surgeons in New Delhi, Mumbai and even London as my father especially flew to meet a well known orthopedic surgeon there earlier this month. All such surgeons have agreed that the Cobalt metal implant fitted into my father's knee is too small for his knee and the fitting itself is not optimum. There has also been nerve damage during the surgery which has caused the numbness. This is clear from the X-Rays. Both of these issues are causing my father chronic and ongoing pain, swelling and numbness. My father has had to undergo further tests including fluid drainage from his knee, further X-Rays and scans and regular blood tests to monitor his health, none of which have been offered by Dr Anubhav Gulati. Revision surgery has been mentioned by other surgeons but is not recommended given the possible dire consequences of such surgery. They are unanimous in that a medical error has taken place and that my father now has to live with the consequences for life. They are also of the opinion that the situation could worsen resulting in shattered bones and its separate medical issues.

The consequences of Dr Anubhav Gulati's actions have been grave and profound. My father continues to endure excruciating pain, numbness and swelling in his knee, rendering him incapable of performing daily activities such as walking, climbing stairs, driving and flying as he could pre-surgery. The persistent pain and Dr Anubhav Gulati's nonchalant stance at the deterioration in his health post surgery has now taken a severe toll on my father's mental health leading to feelings of depression. My father's business is travel and hospitality and since the surgery he has found it extremely difficult to travel as he used to which has greatly impacted his business.

To further highlight the series of misconduct at Manipal Hospital Palam Vihar, my father was most recently rushed into Emergency with very high BP and chest pain. This was as he was suffering consistent and severe knee pain. He was seen to by the ICU doctor, underwent tests and was told that the BP was under control and he could go home. As we were about to leave, three of the doctors in the Emergency ward, namely Dr Pradeep, took me to one side and said they needed to have a word in private. Dr Pradeep then informed me that my father's condition was serious, he was having an ongoing cardiac ischemic attack and needed to be admitted immediately. He offered a private room and said the doctor would see my father on his morning rounds. At first, I was shocked but having regained my composure, I asked him why the ICU doctor had said he could go home and why, if my father was indeed suffering a heart attack would Dr Pradeep think it better to admit my father into a private room and be seen to by the doctor on his morning rounds rather than attend to him as an emergency case right there and then! I took photos of all the monitors showing my father's current state of health and sent them to a doctor friend I know. He immediately told me that Dr Pradeep was lying and there was nothing wrong with my father. I told Dr Pradeep I am taking my father home and he made me sign a disclaimer.

It is imperative that this matter be addressed with the utmost urgency and seriousness. The negligence and dismissiveness displayed by Dr Anubhav Gulati are wholly unacceptable and have resulted in enormous harm to my father's well-being. I implore you to conduct an urgent and thorough investigation into this matter and take appropriate disciplinary action against Dr Anubhav Gulati to ensure no other patient suffers similar negligent treatment.

Furthermore, I demand a full refund of all expenses incurred for appointments made with Dr Anubhav Gulati and his associates at Manipal Hospital as per his referrals including the cost of the surgery itself. I also expect a refund of all monies paid for all appointments made with other orthopedic surgeons at other Delhi hospitals and, most recently, at a private hospital in London, United Kingdom which were necessitated by Dr Anubhav Gulati's lack of care and the resultant complications arising from the surgery and post surgery negligence. I also expect compensation to reflect the inferior quality of life my father is now enduring and the mental health issues caused as a direct result of Dr Anubhav's negligence and post surgery lack of responsibility and care.

In particular, I also demand an inquiry into Dr Pradeep in the Emergency ward for his gross misconduct.

I trust that you will take the necessary steps to urgently address this situation and provide me with the resolution we demand. I await your prompt acknowledgment of this email within the next 7 business days and pursuant detailed reply and resolution of this deeply sensitive issue. I do not wish to commence legal action against Manipal Hospitals but will not hesitate to do so if necessitated. This will incur further litigation costs of course.