Care Hospitals Fined 3.5 Lakh By Hyderabad Consumer Commission Over Service Deficiency
The Hyderabad District Consumer Commission–III has held Care Hospitals guilty of deficiency in service and directed the hospital to refund ₹3.5 lakh with 12% annual interest to a patient. The Commission also ordered the hospital to pay ₹1 lakh as compensation and ₹10,000 towards litigation costs.
The case was filed by Muraleedhar Rao (74), a resident of Himayatnagar, who was admitted to Care Hospital, Banjara Hills, on March 1, 2025, for a minimally invasive cardiac surgery. Rao was covered under a group mediclaim policy issued by New India Assurance Company and had applied for cashless treatment.
According to the complaint, hospital staff informed Rao that there would be a delay in insurance approval and assured him that any advance payment would be refunded once the claim was settled. Trusting this assurance, Rao paid an advance of ₹3.5 lakh. He also alleged that the hospital did not issue proper receipts for the payment.
The surgery was performed on March 3, and Rao was discharged on March 10. Later, he learned that the insurance company had already settled the entire bill with the hospital during his treatment period. Despite this, the hospital allegedly failed to return the advance amount, even after repeated requests.
Rao said he sent a legal notice on April 9 and followed it up with emails on April 18 and May 1, but received no response. With no other option, he approached the Consumer Commission seeking relief.
During the hearings, no representative from the hospital appeared before the Commission, nor was any written reply filed. As a result, the Commission proceeded ex parte and examined the evidence submitted by the complainant, including discharge summaries, payment records, screenshots, and email correspondence.
After reviewing the material, the Commission concluded that the hospital’s actions amounted to a clear deficiency in service. It directed Care Hospitals to refund the amount with interest, pay compensation and costs, and complete all payments within 45 days.
