In a first of its kind ruling, the Central Drugs Standard Control Organization (CDSCO) recently asked Johnson and Johnson (J&J), a US-based company, to pay a hefty penalty of nearly Rs 75 lakh to an unidentified Mumbai-based victim of a faulty hip implant.
In November, the government had come up with a compensation formula based on factors such as age, risk and percentage of disability. The quantum of compensation recommended in such cases varied from Rs 30 lakh to nearly Rs 1.2 crore.
Experts, however, doubt the ability of the government, and the regulator, to actually realise the penalty amount from the