The family members of two deceased persons had a harrowing experience following a mix-up of bodies at the mortuary of Coimbatore Medical College Hospital.
One of the deceased, Mani (63) from Erode district, was undergoing treatment for stroke at the hospital. He died of complications on Thursday.
Meanwhile, the family members of another deceased, Kumaraswamy (76) from Tiruppur district, claimed Mani’s body “by mistake”.
Later, when Mani’s family went to claim his body at the mortuary, they were shocked to discover that the body had been handed over to another family.
Upon realising the mix-up, the hospital staff called both families and held talks in the presence of the police.
However, by the time the issue was brought to light, Kumaraswamy’s family had cremated Mani’s body, leaving only his ashes to be claimed by the family.
Jayakumar, Kumarasamy’s son, said “My father was undergoing treatment for urinary tract infection and passed away due to complications. Given the similarities in my father’s and Mani’s physical features, there was confusion and we accepted Mani’s body.”
Kumaraswamy’s family later issued an apology to Mani’s relatives and handed over his ashes. The family later cremated Kumaraswamy’s body. Both the families emphasised the need for increased attention to detail by hospital staff to avoid such errors.
“We regret the error that occurred at the mortuary. Going forward, stringent action will be taken to ensure the accuracy of procedures. We have also initiated an inquiry to understand the circumstances leading to this unfortunate incident,” Resident Medical Officer Saravana Priya said.
