It was alleged gross negligence that killed 32-year-old Rajesh Maru after he got sucked into an MRI machine at government-run Nair Hospital in Mumbai on Saturday, 27 January, say media reports. Maru was holding an oxygen cylinder while taking his relative for an MRI.
Three people, including a doctor and a ward boy, have been arrested. The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has also set up a committee to probe the case.
His family alleged that the negligent hospital staff called Maru into an MRI room with the cylinder, that the patient needed, when no metal items are allowed near the machine. He got pulled into the machine due to the strong magnetic force of the device as he was holding the metallic cylinder.
His hand got trapped between the cylinder and the machine, which made it difficult for him to pull out. This also caused a massive oxygen leak from the cylinder. A postmortem at JJ Hospital indicated that Maru died due to pneumothorax, a condition where excessive oxygen enters the lungs.
Even a tiny object containing metal – including jewellery, clothing with metallic fibers, zippers, buttons, underwire and even medical implants – isn't allowed inside an MRI room.
Family members of Rajesh, along with BJP MLA Mangal Prabhat Lodha, protested inside the hospital’s dean's cabin, demanding immediate action against the culprit and compensation for the same.
One ward boy, who had given the oxygen cylinder containing metal to Rajesh Maru, has been suspended. Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis announced a compensation of Rs 5 lakh for family of the victim.
His relative, Naranbhai Jitiya, speaking to DNA, said, “It was a shock for us to know that Rajesh died. It is just because of the carelessness of hospital’s doctors, and technical carelessness. No security guard was either present to tell him that he should not carry oxygen cylinder with him to MRI room. It is the duty of the doctors and technicians to tell relatives what precautions to take.”
In fact, in most places, nobody, except the patient and the staff, is even allowed to go inside the MRI room.
According to The Indian Express, Maru’s family said that he was told to assist the hospital staff in positioning the patient for the MRI machine. Before that he was reportedly told not to leave the cylinder outside the MRI room.
The MRI machine was on when Rajesh was called in. As he entered the room the machine took him in with force. Since then, no hospital authority has approached us accepting their mistake.Naranbhai Jitiya, relative of deceased, to DNA
Within 10 minutes of being pulled out from the machine, Maru was taken to the emergency ward, where he was declared “brought dead”.
Maru's brother-in-law, Harish Solanki, told ANI that his mother was admitted in the hospital and the deceased went to visit her.
“He went there to visit my ailing mother, but we did not know he would meet such a fate. We all are in shock. A ward boy told him to carry an oxygen cylinder with him to MRI room which is prohibited. It all happened because of the carelessness of hospital's doctors and administration,” he told ANI.
An FIR has been registered against Dr Siddhant Shah, ward boy Vitthal Chavan, and one female ward attendant Sunita Surve under Section 304 A (causing death by negligence) and all the three accused have been detained by Agripada police station. Closed circuit television camera footage has been handed over to the police by hospital authorities and further investigation is underway.
(At The Quint, we are answerable only to our audience. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member. Because the truth is worth it.)