JUDGMENT :

BECHU KURIAN THOMAS, J.

1. An otherwise healthy young man of 29 years, rode his motorbike to a hospital to undergo minor surgery/procedure for the removal of kidney stones. Two days later and half an hour into the surgery, tragedy struck and the operation was aborted. The young man was brought out from the operation theater as a paraplegic and his speech, lost. A suit for damages alleging medical negligence filed by the young man was decreed in part. The hospital and the doctor have preferred this appeal.

2. The counsel for both sides agreed that since the incident occurred in 2005 and the suit was actually of the year 2008, delayed consideration can result in further agony for both sides. We acceded to their request for early consideration of the case, taking note of the situation and the circumstances of the parties. For easier comprehension, the parties are referred to as they were arrayed in the trial court.

3. The events that led to this appeal are briefly narrated as below:-

3.1 Plaintiff developed severe pain in the abdomen and on reference to the 2nd defendant, who is a super-specialist in Urology, the plaintiff was diagnosed as having secondary calculi in the right k