Three patients go to court claiming Rs.300 million from Keheliya, others

Colombo, August 20 (Daily Mirror) - Three patients who were subjected to permanent loss of sight due to the use of ‘Prednisolone Acetatean' eye drops used after cataract surgeries at a government hospital, filed lawsuits before the Colombo District Court today claiming Rs.300 million from former Health Minister Keheliya Rambukwella and ten others for the damage caused to their eyes and possible threats to their lives.

Keheliya Rambukwella, Janaka Chandraguptha, the National Medicines Regulatory Authority, Prof. S.D. Jayaratne, Dr. Vijith Gunasekera, Dr. Asela Gunawardene, Dr. Rohan Edirisinghe, Dr. Mahendra Seneviratne, Chamee Chemist (Pvt) Ltd of Yakkala, Indiana Ophthalmics LLP and the Attorney General were named an the defendants of these plaints. 

In his plaint, the plaintiff Makkari Rajaratnam, a resident of Kandapola, stated that he was admitted to the Nuwara Eliya General Hospital and underwent a Cataract surgery on April 05, 2023 performed by the medical staff of the Nuwara Eliya General Hospital. 

The plaintiff stated that he was thereafter discharged on April 06, 2023 after the completion of the surgery and advised by the medical staff of the Nuwara Eliya Hospital to use the Prednisolone Acetate eye drops manufactured by Indiana Opthalmics LLP India which was also given by the hospital as part of the recovery and after care. 

He further stated that after several applications of the said eye drops he developed tearing, discomfort, pain and headaches on or about April 19, 2023. 

The plaintiff further stated that upon further medical investigation and admission to the National Eye Hospital on May 10, 2023, it was observed that he was gradually losing sight in the eye operated upon and treated with the said Prednisolone Acetate eye drops. 

The victim further stated that the said eye drops were substandard due to the non-conformity with the sterility tests and that patients who used the drug developed Endophthahnitis. 

The plaintiff filed these lawsuits  through Attorneys Sampath Wijewardene, Thamali Kuruppu and Pravinka Ratnasekera of the Invictus Law Firm, demanding compensation from the eleven defendants.