Telangana Rights Panel Orders Compensation and Inquiry Over 2018 Cataract Infections
Finding failures in sterilisation together with weak supervision that violated patients' right to life, the commission directed officials to identify and discipline those responsible.
Overview
- Eighteen patients who had cataract surgery at Jaya Hospital in Hanumakonda on September 26, 2018 developed severe post‑operative eye infections and were later referred to L. V. Prasad Eye Institute for specialised care.
- A technical committee found concrete lapses in the hospital’s operation theatre maintenance, instrument cleaning and sterilisation, use of untrained staff, and reuse of instrument sets that likely caused Enterobacter cloacae infections and vision loss.
- On August 11, 2026 the Telangana Human Rights Commission concluded the failures amounted to violations of Article 21 and recommended monetary compensation for victims and the families of deceased complainants.
- Reports differ on the precise payout: some accounts say ₹4 lakh for each of the 18 victims while others say ₹4 lakh for 12 survivors and ₹5 lakh for next of kin of six deceased patients, and the commission has ordered authorities to submit an action‑taken report that should clarify payments.
- The panel has also ordered a detailed inquiry to identify and discipline erring doctors, staff and supervisory officials and its findings could prompt tighter oversight of mass eye‑care drives such as the Kanti Velugu programme and changes in sterilisation protocol and staff training.