Karnataka   

‘Accident victims will continue to be bled'

In response to Public Eye of March 24 on motor vehicle insurance, Shaila S. Shenoy of Kadri says, “There is no protocol-based management regimen for accident victims in Mangalore or anywhere in India. Many of the ambulances, traffic and law enforcement officials, drivers of public conveyances and the ambulance chasers (lawyers) owe allegiance to specific nursing homes or hospitals. When almost the entire emergency medical care system is in the control of private sector, there is no escape from commercialisation.Accident victims will continue to be bled by all involved in their

management.”

Sunil P. Shenoy of A.J. Hospital and Research Centre says, “Accident victims, especially the uneducated, are truly an unprivileged lot. Impersonation, false FIRs and certificates, inflation of treatment bills, etc., seem to be a matter of routine. The unholy nexus between the lawyers, police, insurance agents, touts and at times even the doctors and nursing homes deprives them of their legally due compensation in exchange for clearance of their medical bills. There are occasions when the injured, keen on taking advantage of insurance, asks the doctor to increase the disability percentage for a consideration. All players in the system are thus equally responsible.”

Varsha S. Shenoy of Kadri says, “Thanks to the Public Eye for exposing yet another facet of the scourge of corruption that has pervaded each and every section of our society.

It is unfortunate that compensation for accident victims often fills the coffers of lawyers, police, insurance agents and medical institutions. This can be minimised once the Uniqe ID card system comes into vogue. The compensation cheque should be payable only into the UID number linked bank account of the victim. Hospital bills should be strictly audited by independent agencies and cleared by the bankers through this account.” If one or two links of the corruption networks are broken, the rest will fall in line.”

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