Hyderabad woman suffers burns, clinic told to cough up Rs 3 lakh

HYDERABAD: A district consumer forum here has directed a slimming and cosmetic clinic in the city to refund Rs 3 lakh to a consumer who suffered burns during weight loss treatment administered at the clinic.
Gayathri Rana, the complainant, submitted that she had approached Rich Slimming and Cosmetic Clinic, Gachibowli and paid Rs 3 lakh in instalments as fees towards weight loss treatment.The complainant alleged that she sustained several injuries like burns and bruises, during the treatment. She said that she brought the issue to the notice of the staff concerned at the clinic but received no proper response and they made no efforts to provide proper treatment.
Due to the lack of cooperation, Rana said she suffered grave loss and faced harassment. She said that she made multiple complaints, but all of them went unanswered, forcing her to discontinue the treatment and was duped of her hard-earned money. She filed the complaint seeking a refund and compensation.
The opposite party, meanwhile, failed to file its written version within the stipulated time and was set exparte.
During trial, bench noticed that complainant had alleged about not getting even 1% benefit from e treatment for last three months and instead suffering severe injuries as “machinery” was used at 30-degree temperature.
“As there is no rebuttal evidence by the opposite party, we have no hesitation to believe the version of the complainant,” the bench said and directed the clinic to refund amount with 6% interest and pay Rs 5,000 towards the cost of the complaint.