1.     Hospitals charging covid care fee in maternity cases for delivery

Facts –woman admitted for delivery of the child .As usual labour room charges, Doctors fee, and charges for  anesthesia etc. taken as usual. At the time of release from the hospital 11,000/- more asked for Covid care fee; 2500/-per day for mother and 500/- per day for child for two days.  

Law point-

No medicine or treatment as yet available for covid-19 .The only thing to be done is to keep hygiene conditions appropriate and intact. Do everything to avoid infection which is otherwise also expected from the hospital to do when patient is under their care. They are paid for all the care as room charges, doctor charges and for all other medicines

Was this facility demanded by the patient or was this a part of contract known to the patient when admitted in the hospital or was any such terms signed or explained to the patient

Patients visiting any hospital /nursing homes must check now about these hidden clauses

2.     Service providers making Covid-19 a force mejore clause for escaping their liability

Builders taking force mejore clause for delayed possession –Court did not agree to it. Delay is not due to natural calamity –flood, earth quake, storm or any such thing beyond control.

(22 MAY 2020)

COVID-19 is a Force Majeure event. But was this event the cause of the non-performance?” the Court asked

"The past non-performance of the Contractor cannot be condoned due to the COVID-19 in India. The outbreak of a pandemic cannot be used as an excuse for nonperformance of a contract for which the deadlines were much before the outbreak itself".

·         'Every breach or non-performance cannot be justified or excused merely on the invocation of COVID-19 as a Force Majeure condition', the Court said.

·         COVID-19 is a Force Majeure event, but its application will depend on the facts and circumstances of each case.

·         The Court would have to assess the conduct of the parties prior to the

 

3.     Punjab & Haryana HC Stays Circular Issued By RERA, Punjab Extending Validity of All Registered Real Estate Projects by Six Months (30 June 2020)

Petition moved by one Vinod Kumar, challenging RERA's circular dated May 13, 2020 extending the period of validity of registration of projects by six months

1.      Alleged that the circular was issued to give relief to those projects whose registration was expiring on or before March 15, 2020, by treating the Covid crisis as a 'Force Majeure'

2.      Those projects whose registration has expired long back had been extended by six months.

3.      Due to this, he submitted, several small-time home buyers were suffering as the builders had stopped work.

4.      Power to issue circulars/ notifications of this nature vests in the State Government and not in the adjudicatory bodies. At best, RERA could have entertained an application under Section 84 or 85 of the RERA, 2016. However, no such application was moved in the instant case.

5.      The bench of Justice Rajan Gupta and Justice Karamjit Singh was "surprised" that the RERA had provided blanket extension to all projects, including those that had expired long back.4.

 

4. An argument for human errors like dead body given to wrong family

1.      Hospital in Kerala The Ernakulum Medical Centre Hospital in Kerala released the dead body of the Petitioners' father, Purushothaman, to the family of one Kanthy ,Kanthy's family cremated Purushothaman's body, thus depriving the Petitioners' from seeing their father for one last time.

2.       Petitioners moved the State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission, which directed the hospital to pay a compensation of Rs. 25 lakhs with interest, for deficiency in its service. An appeal filed by the hospital against the order of State Commission

3.       NCDRC in their order reduced the compensation to Rs. 5 lakhs and directed to the hospital to pay Rs. 25 lakhs as costs to the Consumer Legal Aid account of the State Commission. The reasoning given by the hospital is that such mistake is human error Purushothaman was cremated properly by Kanthy's relatives and his ashes were received by the Petitioners for further religious rites.

4.      Supreme Court stayed the NCDRC order it is stated that their fundamental rights were infringed as they could not perform the last rites of their father in accordance with the Hindu customs.

 

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