Victims of mishaps at civic hospitals likely to be insured by BMC

Senior Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) officials said that the health insurance scheme for victims of accidents or cases of negligence at civic hospitals, will be connected to the accident and compensation policy that is still being finalise

Victims of mishaps in civic hospitals, like two-month-old Prince Rajbhar, who died of burn injuries sustained in a fire at KEM hospital, may soon get compensation from insurance companies. The cash-strapped civic body is planning to invest in a health insurance policy to fund compensation for such victims and those of negligence in its hospitals.

Rajbhar sustained severe burns in the fire that broke out in the ICU and succumbed to his injuries on November 22, 2019. The BMC had then given Rs 10 lakh to his parents as 'financial assistance'.

For the premium

Senior Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) officials said that the health insurance scheme for victims of accidents or cases of negligence at civic hospitals, will be connected to the accident and compensation policy that is still being finalised. "We are planning to set aside a part of the registration fee collected from patients at civic hospitals. This amount can be paid to an insurance company as premium, and in case of a mishap, the insurance company will then pay the compensation to the victim," said a senior civic official.

The four major civic hospitals in the city, including Sion, Cooper, Nair and KEM, receive around 42,000 patients every day in the outpatient department alone. A registration fee of R10 is collected from each patient (for a new case) here, which means it yields more than R1.2 crore every month.

The civic body has never before considered compensation for victims in any other department other than the sewerage operations department for conservancy workers, and it has no existing provision for victims of negligence or accidents in civic hospitals.

Suresh Kakani, additional municipal commissioner, said, "This is a tentative plan. We will soon have a discussion with insurance companies and ask them for their feedback. We can then prepare a proper plan and apply for approval."

Draft of policy

After Prince's death at KEM hospital, former civic chief Praveen Pardeshi had ordered that a compensation policy be drafted. So far, only a draft of the policy has been prepared. It states that compensation claims will be categorised under three types of cases — death, partial disability or permanent disability caused by negligence. According to the draft, a committee will be set up to vet the cases and determine which ones will be awarded compensation.

42K
No. of daily outpatients at four major civic hospitals in city

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