The Banke District Court has found Nepalgunj Medical College Teaching Hospital guilty of a patient’s death due to negligence.

A single bench of Judge Bidur Karki on Thursday found the Kohalpur-based hospital guilty of the death of Manital Shrestha, a local of Gharbaritol, and ordered the hospital to pay compensation of Rs2.6 million to the victim’s family.

Namrata Shrestha, the victim’s wife, had filed a case against the hospital at the district court in 2019, accusing the medical institute of being responsible for her husband’s death and seeking compensation.

The bereaved family had accused the hospital of being careless and including inexperienced medical students during the checkup. A case was filed under the Consumer Protection Act 2018, against the medical institute and the medical officers involved.

Shrestha, who was suffering from fever, was admitted to the emergency ward of the hospital, and was examined by amateur medical students, the family claimed.

Shrestha died on 18 September 2019.

The case is a first-of-its-kind filed at the Banke district court since the introduction of the Consumer Protection Act 2018.

“In addition to protecting the rights of the consumers to get quality service, the case has also set a precedent for making hospitals accountable and responsible,” said Advocate Basanta Gautam, who is also a consumer rights activist.