A Fight for Self-Respect
A Fight for Self-Respect
Sometimes, a legal battle is not fought merely for money. It is fought for dignity, accountability and self-respect.
There are moments when an ordinary person finds himself standing against an institution far more powerful than him—a hospital, a builder, a bank, an insurance company, a corporation or any other organisation with greater resources and influence. At such moments, the person may feel that his voice will never be heard.
But the law exists precisely to ensure that power does not become a licence for injustice.
A recent order of the Maharashtra State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission illustrates this principle with unusual force. The matter concerned the treatment of a four-year-old child at Jaslok Hospital and Research Centre. The child underwent three sessions of sclerotherapy for a right-foot vascular malformation. Following the third session, she developed vomiting and breathing difficulty and was subsequently hospitalised elsewhere before eventually succumbing on 10 February 2015.
The District Consumer Commission had held the hospital guilty of medical negligence and deficiency in service and awarded compensation of ₹6 lakh with interest. The hospital challenged that decision before the State Commission.
The appeal was ultimately dismissed on 27 May 2026, and the original order was confirmed.
But beyond the legal outcome lies a much larger lesson.
When the fight is bigger than compensation
For a grieving parent, compensation can never truly compensate for the loss of a child.
The real question is often different:
Who will listen?
Who will accept responsibility?
Who will acknowledge that something went wrong?
The complainant in this case pursued the matter despite facing a powerful hospital. The hospital argued, among other things, that the complications were inherent risks of treatment and that medical negligence could not be inferred merely because an unfortunate outcome occurred.
That argument raises an important principle. Medical professionals cannot automatically be held negligent merely because treatment produces an adverse result. Medical science involves risks, complications and uncertainties.
But that principle has another side.
A patient is also entitled to expect reasonable care, timely attention and appropriate medical assistance.
The Commission focused particularly on what happened after the third procedure. The child complained of breathlessness and vomiting. The hospital maintained that she had been examined by a paediatric resident and was discharged after being found normal. The complainant disputed this and contended that appropriate paediatric assessment had not taken place before discharge.
The State Commission ultimately found that, considering the child was a minor and had developed concerning symptoms, appropriate paediatric care and observation were required before discharge.
That finding is significant.
Self-respect begins when silence ends
Many people tolerate injustice because they believe:
"What difference will my complaint make?"
"The opposite party is too powerful."
"I cannot afford a long legal battle."
"Nobody will listen to me."
This is exactly how institutional power becomes stronger.
Consumer protection is not merely about obtaining monetary compensation. It is also about creating a mechanism through which an ordinary citizen can question an organisation when the citizen believes that a service has failed.
The Consumer Commission is therefore not simply a place where claims are calculated in rupees and paise.
It can become a place where a person says:
"I may be an ordinary citizen, but I have rights."
The courage to question the powerful
The complainant in this matter appeared in person before the State Commission, while the hospital was represented through counsel.
That itself carries a message.
You do not always need enormous resources to begin a legal fight.
You need facts, documents, perseverance and courage.
A bill, discharge summary, medical record, correspondence, prescription, report or email that appears insignificant at first may become an important piece of evidence later.
In this case, the Commission considered the hospital's records and the circumstances surrounding the child's discharge. It noted that the hospital's own written position regarding the paediatric examination contained inconsistencies concerning who had examined the child.
This demonstrates why documentation matters.
Memory fades. Documents remain.
Consumer law gives the common citizen a voice
The significance of consumer law lies in its accessibility.
The Supreme Court's landmark decision in Indian Medical Association v. V.P. Shantha recognised that medical services rendered for consideration fall within the consumer-protection framework, subject to the principles laid down by the Court. The State Commission referred to that decision while considering the complainant's case.
The philosophy behind consumer protection is simple:
If you pay for a service, you are entitled to expect the service to be provided with reasonable care and responsibility.
And when that expectation is seriously violated, the consumer should not feel helpless merely because the opposite party is bigger, richer or more influential.
A legal battle can become a moral responsibility
There is another dimension to such cases.
Sometimes a person fights not only for himself.
He fights so that the next person does not suffer the same injustice.
A complaint may begin as an individual's grievance but can ultimately contribute to greater institutional accountability.
A hospital may reconsider its procedures.
A builder may become more careful with its commitments.
An insurance company may reconsider how claims are handled.
A bank may become more responsive to customers.
A corporation may realise that consumers cannot simply be ignored.
This is how individual courage gradually produces systemic change.
Self-respect is not arrogance
There is an important difference between ego and self-respect.
Ego says:
"I must win because I cannot accept defeat."
Self-respect says:
"I cannot remain silent when I have been wronged."
A person fighting for self-respect does not necessarily seek revenge. He seeks recognition of the wrong, accountability and justice.
That is why legal action should not be viewed merely as confrontation.
It can be an instrument of responsible citizenship.
Know your rights—but also know your facts
A legal battle should never be driven only by emotion.
Emotion may give a person the courage to approach the law, but evidence gives the case strength.
Before approaching a Consumer Commission, a person should preserve:
Agreements and invoices
Bills and receipts
Medical records and reports
Emails and correspondence
Photographs and videos
Complaints and replies
Warranties and policies
Expert opinions, where necessary
Chronology of events
Evidence of financial loss and other consequences
The strongest complaint is often not the loudest complaint.
It is the complaint that can prove what happened.
The real victory
The State Commission dismissed the hospital's appeal and confirmed the District Commission's order.
But the deeper victory is not merely the ₹6 lakh compensation.
The deeper victory is the recognition that an ordinary consumer can stand before a powerful institution and ask the law to examine its conduct.
That is what access to justice means.
It means that the law does not ask:
"How powerful are you?"
It asks:
"What happened?"
And then:
"Can you prove it?"
A fight worth fighting
There will always be people who advise you to remain silent.
They may say, "Forget it."
They may say, "You cannot fight a big company."
They may say, "Courts take years."
Sometimes they may even be right about the difficulties.
But difficulty does not make injustice acceptable.
If your rights have genuinely been violated, there comes a point when silence itself becomes unbearable.
That is when the fight begins.
Not a fight driven by hatred.
Not a fight driven by revenge.
But a fight for truth, dignity, accountability and self-respect.
Because sometimes the most important thing a person can recover is not money.
It is the confidence to say:
"I may be small before you, but my rights are not small."
And that is why some legal battles are not merely cases.
They are a fight for self-respect.
Article by Adv Bhaskar B Yogi Ex-President District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commissions Maharashtra can be reached email jaijagannath5533@gmail.com Contact no. 7977870394
