In December 2019, we provided pro bono representation to a young boy who became blind at birth because of medical negligence. Rishabh, was born prematurely and suffered from retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) which was ignored by his treating doctors. Rishabh’s mother is a widow (her husband was an electricity linesman who died when Rishabh was a toddler) and worked part-time as a receptionist to make ends meet. When they came to brief us before the case, I recall Rishabh’s mother telling us that she could not afford to educate Rishabh because the daily autorickshaw fare of Rs. 50 (about 60 cents) to the special school, was unaffordable for her. Her monthly salary was Rs. 6000 (less than 100 USD) and she lived in one bedroom tenement with Rishabh and his elder brother.
| All smiles after winning the case! (Fromleft to right) Jai Anant Dehadrai with Rishabh Sharma, his mother, elder brother and Jai’s Chamber colleague Sidharth Arora. |
We won the case in the Supreme Court – obtaining compensation of Rs. 76 Lakhs (exactly 100, 000 USD). In recognition of the pro bono assistance to the family, our names were recorded in the judgment and the Supreme Court awarded us Rs. 100,000/- (about 1,500 USD) as honorarium.
Extracted from the judgment passed by the Hon’ble Apex Court in Maharaja Agrasen Hospital v. Rishabh Sharma, (2020) 6 SCC 501[1]
