BEST bus mishap: Victim's brother grateful for hospital's treatment

Surendra Shinde underwent a crucial surgical procedure on Tuesday morning. Pic/Santosh Shinde

On Tuesday morning, Surendra Shinde, 59, a cancer and accident survivor, underwent a crucial surgery that lasted over two hours at a south Mumbai-based private hospital. His already amputated leg had to be further shortened to arrest the spread of infection.

mid-day, in its article titled ‘Who will pay mishap victim's bills when public transport is involved?', dated November 15, highlighted the plight of the Shinde family, which has been running from pillar to post since Surendra was injured by a BEST bus on October 18. Surendra has been in three different hospitals in less than a month. With his recent procedure, his stay may get extended - which is concerning his kin, who have sought time from the hospital to arrange for the money.

Santosh Shinde, a child rights activist and Surendra's younger brother, said, "The doctors and hospital management have been kind enough to provide the best line of treatment and care for my brother. After the second surgery, the doctors were hopeful that the recovery would be good, but suddenly they detected multiple infection spots in the operated wound. Therefore, this emergency surgery [the third one] was planned."

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Santosh added, "We approached the hospital authorities before the surgery and they had been considerate enough to acknowledge our financial constraints and continued with the surgery and are providing the best treatment. We have assured them that we will clear all dues before discharging my brother." While Santosh continues to handle the financial aspect and communicates with doctors and the hospital administration, it is Surendra's wife Rohini, 55, who has been at her husband's side from the beginning and is concerned about their future and their daughter Shweta's higher education.

On Monday night, Surendra spoke to his mother Kamal, 88, who was recently discharged from Holy Spirit Hospital in Andheri East after being treated for a brain stroke and she expressed her desire to see him back home soon, saying, "Lavkar ghari ye, bhetaychi khup icha ahe (Come home soon. I badly wish to see you again)".

Asked if Surendra and his family had medical insurance, Santosh said, "They did have a private insurance coverage of Rs 5 lakh, but the policy lapsed last month, and as it was not renewed. It stands lapsed." "I had approached the insurance company, informing them about the accident and Surendra's subsequent hospital stay, and that is when I was informed about the policy term ending last month and non-payment of renewal premium. The company has, however, assured us it will look into the case, upon receiving our letter of intimation," explained Santosh. He added that apart from the hospital bill, the family will incur heavy expenses for his rehabilitation.

Asked to elaborate, he said, "Surendra and his family stay in a 340-square-foot single-room flat in Goregaon, which needs to be redone, as his wounds will need to be infection-free. The Indian-style toilet needs to be replaced with a western one and he will need an artificial limb, the cost of which starts at Rs 1.50 lakh. The hospital bills will surely run into a few lakhs as his stay has been extended and he will also need physiotherapy."

"We haven't got any financial assistance from either the BEST or the civic corporation, which means we will have to arrange for funds ourselves. Usually, in case of an accident that involves mass casualties, the state immediately announces financial assistance and also free treatment to the injured. The government should consider a similar policy for victims of road accidents so that the already traumatised victim and his family are not burdened with hospital bills," said Santosh. We are also approaching a few charitable trusts, other than mortgaging the house, where Surendra stays, to raise funds," said Santosh.

Road ahead

"At this moment, our entire focus and energy is on Surendra and we want him to return home at the earliest. The priority is to settle the hospital dues at the earliest and to get Surendra back on his feet so that he can once again run his family and get his daughter to complete her further education," Santosh said.