Ahmedabad: A consumer court here has given an order Insurance The company will reimburse the expenses on the treatment of lungs cancer The company denied the mediclaim on the ground that the patient is a chain non smoker And his smoking caused cancer. The consumer court said there was no evidence that the cancer was caused by the patient’s smoking habit.

The case involved one Alok Kumar Banerjee from Thaltej, who treated adenocarcinoma of the lungs. Vedanta Institute of Medical Science In July 2014 and spent a medical bill of Rs 93,297. He had a medical insurance cover. But his claim was rejected by the insurer.

After Banerjee’s demise, his widow Smita sued the insurer in 2016. Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission, Ahmedabad (Additional), where the insurance company defended that Banerjee was treated in various hospitals for her illness, which was directly related to her smoking habit, and this was reflected in her case papers.

Consumer commission did not agree. It cited the order of a higher forum and held that a discharge summary cannot be treated as primary or conclusive evidence in the absence of any independent evidence. In this case there was no evidence to suggest that the patient had developed cancer due to smoking.

The doctor of the insurance company gave a medical opinion that the risk of cancer in smokers is 26 times higher. To this the Commission said that it cannot be concluded on the basis of this opinion alone that the patient had got cancer because of his smoking habit. Non-smokers also get lung cancer and it cannot be believed that people who smoke get lung cancer. The Commission held that it cannot be accepted that the complainant’s husband had contracted cancer due to his smoking habit and the insurer had wrongly rejected the claim.

Apart from ordering the insurer to refund the medical expenses, the commission has also asked the complainant to pay an additional Rs 5,000 towards compensation for mental harassment and legal expenses.