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Role of Judiciary in Medical
Profession
Introduction
There are many ways to conceptualize health law. The Health Law
& Justice Program views health law as encompassing not only the
law of health care delivery and nancing but all areas of study
that focus on the intersection between law and health from the
ethics of embryonic stem cell research! to the role of government
in preventing child maltreatment! to occupational health and
safety regulations! to the laws governing elder care and death.
"e have grouped our health law courses into four overlapping but
distinct areas of study health care law! public and population
health law! bioethics! and global health law. #lthough these are
not the only categories into which health law may be divided! we
thin$ these groupings provide a helpful lens for understanding the
eld%s multifaceted nature.
roadly dened! health law includes the law of public health!
health care generally! and medical care specically. Preserving
public health is a primary duty of the state. Health regulations
and laws are therefore almost all administered at the state level.
'any states delegate authority to subordinate governmental
agencies such as boards of health. These boards are created by
legislative acts.
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Role of Judiciary in Medical Profession
Judicial Interpretation of Medical Negligence under
Consumer Protection
'edical profession is one of the most oldest professions of the
world and is the most humanitarian one. There is no betterservice than to serve the su(ering! wounded and the sic$. #ryans
embodied the rule that! )idyo narayano harihi *which means
doctors are e+uivalent to Lord )ishnu,. -ince long the medical
profession is highly respected! but today a decline in the standard
of the medical profession can be attributed to increasing number
of litigations against doctors for being negligent narrowing down
to medical negligence/. Hospital managements are increasingly
facing complaints regarding the facilities! standards of professional competence! and the appropriateness of their
therapeutic and diagnostic methods.
0egligence is a breach of duty caused by omission to do
something which a reasonable man guided by those
considerations which ordinarily regulate the contract of human
a(airs would do which a prudent and reasonable man would not
do.
#ccording to 1harles worth & Percy 0egligence has three
meaning
• # state of mind! in which it is opposed to intention
• 1areless conduct
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• The breach of duty to ta$e care that is imposed by either
common or statute law.
'edical negligence is dened as the failure to e2ercise rational
caution and capability during diagnosis and treatment over apatient in accordance to the prevailing standards in force at that
point of time/.
3n Bolam v. Friern hospital management committee1! the
test for establishing medical negligence was set. The doctor is
re+uired to e2ercise the ordinary s$ill of a competent doctor in his
eld. He must e2ercise this s$ill in accordance with a reasonable
body of medical opinion s$illed in the area of medicine./
3n Dr.Kunal Saha v. Dr. Sukumar Mukherjee and Ors2! the
0ational 1onsumer 1ommission summarized the medical
negligence law as follows
Real test for determining deciency in service
• "hether there was e2ercise of reasonable degree of care4
• The degree of standard or reasonable care varies in each
case depending upon e2pertise of medical man and the
circumstances of each case.
'edical profession has been brought under the -ection 5*6, *o, of
1P#! 6789. 3n a signicant ruling in Vasantha . !air v Smt.
V..!air I3! the national commission held a patient is a
:consumer% and a medical assistance was a :service%. # doctor is6 67;<
5 6st June! 5==9
> 6776
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held liable for only his acts *other than cases of vicarious
liability,. )icarious liability arise in case of government hospital
though doctor responsible but hospital has to pay the
compensation.
3t is well $nown that a doctor owes a duty of care to his patient. #
doctor can be held liable for negligence only if one can prove that
she? he is guilty of a failure that no doctor with ordinary s$ills
would be guilty of if acting with reasonable care.
3n armanand Kataria v "nion o# $ndia %! -upreme 1ourt
ma$e it obligatory that every doctor! at the governmental
hospital or elsewhere! has a professional obligation to e2tend his
services with due e2pertise for protecting life/.
3ncidence of medical negligence/ can also decide by medical
council of i3dia. 'edical council of 3ndia is a statutory body deal
with high standards of medical education and recognition of
medical +ualications in 3ndia. 3t registers doctors to practice in
3ndia and promote the health and safety of the public. 3n many
cases national commission accept the credibility of council%s
verdict in medical negligence.'edical council of 3ndia guided by
the 'edical 1ouncil #ct 67;9.
Extended ambit of medical negligence
The 0ational 1ommission as well as the #pe2 1ourt in catena of
decisions has held that the doctor is not liable for negligence
because of someone else of better s$ill or $nowledge would have
prescribed a di(erent treatment or operated in a di(erent way.He is not guilty of negligence if he has acted in accordance with
the practice accepted as proper by a reasonable body of medical
professionals.
@
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3n -upreme 1ourt land mar$ decision $ndian Medical
&ssociation v V.. Shantha and Others $$$' 1.P.J laid down
certain guideline for medical negligence and dene eAciency of
consumer protection. 3t has held certain e2ception li$e
• -ervice rendered to patient in *free of cost or charity, by a
medical professional would not fall under the denition of
:service% under consumer protection act6789.
• -ervice rendered by a doctor under contract of personal
service was not covered in consumer protection act 6789.
#lso held that there are three tiers of disputes redressal forum
they are at the lowest level are the Bistrict 1onsumer Bisputes
Cedressal Dorum! which entertain compensation claims up toCs.5= La$h. #t the ne2t level are the -tate 1onsumer Bisputes
Cedressal Dorums *one in each state,! where compensation
claims between Cs.5= La$h and Cs. l 1rore are made. #t the
0ational Dorum! claim of over Cs. 6 1rore are lodged. Those
dissatised with the Eudgment of the lower forum can appeal to a
higher forum. The nal court of appeal is the -upreme 1ourt.
Essential Components of Medical Negligence
Fn basis of various Eudicial pronouncements essentials of G'edical 0egligenceG as are discernible! in brief and in so far as
it is relatable to the medical profession! are as under
*i, The Boctor must owe a duty of care to the patient.
; 677;
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*ii, The Boctor must have made a breach of that duty.*iii, The patient must have su(ered damages due to the said
breach.
The -upreme 1ourt in the case of Minu B. Mehta v. B.(.!a)ar * has held that the right to receive compensation can
only be against a person who is bound to compensate due to his
failure to perform a legal obligation. 3n many cases doctors have
been held liable for negligent acts! such as removal of a wrong
eye or a $idney! based on pecuniary interest or where minimum
facilities were available.#bsence of any of these re+uirements can result into endanger
to the patient%s life. Fn #pril 7! 678;! the eneral #ssembly of
the Inited 0ations adopted the guidelines to provide framewor$
for overnments! particularly those of developing countries. The
legitimate needs which the guidelines are intended to meet
include the protection of consumers from hazards to their health
and safety and availability of e(ective consumer redress were
rst set up in 6789.
What is an accepted medical practice?
3t is also called as scientic medical practice. 3t is a practice
which is mentioned in standard te2t boo$s or various issues of
leading medical Eournals or recognized by responsible body of
medical profession.3n cases of medical negligence the outcome of the treatment is
of secondary importance! but the method adopted is of primary
and much greater importance.3n case if doctor fails to follow one of the accepted methods &
instead departs from the conventional course of treatment! the
burden of proof lies upon the doctor to show that whether he
had ta$en all proper care into account before deciding the
9 67
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depart & he had informed the patient and ta$en his consent or
not. There may be one or more perfectly proper standards! and if he
conformed to one of these proper standards! he will not be
considered negligent.
3n case of State o# +ar)ana v. Santra, the court has decided
that in absence of gross mismanagement! liability of gross
negligence will not be succeeded.#ny reasonable man entering into a profession which re+uires a
particular level of learning to be called a professional of that
branch! impliedly assures the person dealing with him that the
s$ill which he professes to possess shall be e2ercised and
e2ercised with reasonable degree of care and caution. He does
not assure his client of the result. # lawyer does not tell his
client that the client shall win the case in all circumstances. #
physician would not assure the patient of full recovery in every
case. # surgeon cannot and does not guarantee that the result
of surgery would invariably be benecial! much less to the
e2tent of 6== for the person operated on. The only assurance
which such a professional can give or can be understood to
have given by implication is that he is possessed! of the
re+uisite s$ill in that branch of profession which he is practicing
and while underta$ing the performance of the tas$ entrusted to
him he would be e2ercising his s$ill with reasonable
competence. This is what the entire person approaching the
professional can e2pect. Judged by this standard! a Professional
may be held liable for negligence on one of two ndings either
he was not possessed of the re+uisite s$ill which he professed
to have possessed! or! he did not e2ercise! with reasonablecompetence in the given case! the s$ill which he did
possess.The standard to be applied for Eudging. "hether the
person charged has been negligent or not! would be that of an
< 5=== *>, -11 ;5=
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ordinary competent person e2ercising ordinary s$ill in that
profession.
3n S)ad &k-ar v. State o# Karnataka the -upreme 1ourt has
dealt with and pointed out with reasons the distinction betweennegligence in civil law and in criminal law. Their Lordships have
opined that there is a mar$ed di(erence as to the e(ect of
evidence! viz. the proof! in civil and criminal proceedings. 3n civil
proceedings! a mere preponderance of probability is suAcient!
and the defendant is not necessarily entitled to the benet of
every reasonable doubtK but in criminal proceedings! the
persuasion of guilt must amount to such a moral certainty as
convinces the mind of the 1ourt! as a reasonable man! beyondall reasonable doubt. "here negligence is an essential
ingredient of the o(ence! the negligence to be established by
the prosecution must be culpable or gross and not the
negligence merely based upon an error of Eudgment.
Res Ipsa louitur The doctrine of res ipsa lo+uitur means! that the accident
spea$s for itself or tells its own story. The normal rule is that it is
for the plainti( to prove negligence! but! in some cases!
considerable hardship is caused to the plainti(! as the true
cause of the accident is not $nown to him! but is solely within
the $nowledge of the defendant who caused it. The plainti( can
prove the accident but cannot prove how it happened *so as, to
establish negligence on the part of the defendant.
Dor the applicability of the principle should fulll three essential
conditions• The opposite party must have been in control of things.
• 1ommon $nowledge?accepted norms suggesting that the
inEury?damage?loss! in itself cannot occur without
negligence.
8 *678=, 6 -11 >=
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• The cause of incident?inEury must be un$nown or
unascertainable.
-ome of the common instances! where this principle can be
invo$ed! are operation on a wrong patient or a wrong part of thebody! transfusion of improper blood! leaving some foreign
material in the body! performing an abortion or any other
operation or surgery which is prohibited in law! etc.
Medical Professionals in Criminal !a"
The criminal law has invariably placed the medical professionals
on a pedestal di(erent from ordinary mortals. The 3ndian Penal
1ode #ct 689=! -ection 88 in the 1hapter on eneral 2ceptions
provides e2emption for acts not intended to cause death! doneby consent in good faith for person%s benet. -ection 75
provides for e2emption for acts done in good faith for the
benet of a person without his consent though the acts cause
harm to a. person and that person has not consented to su(er
such harm. There are four e2ceptions listed in the -ection!
which is not necessary in this conte2t to deal with. -ection 7>
saves from criminality certain communications made in good
faith.
The following statement of law on criminal negligence by
reference to surgeons! doctors etc. and uns$illful treatment
contained in Coscoe%s Law of vidence *Difteenth :dition, is
classic
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"here a person! acting as a medical man & c whether licensed
or unlicensed! is so negligent in his treatment of a patient that
death results! it is manslaughter if the negligence was so great
as to K! amount to a crime! and whether or not there was such a
degree of negligence is a +uestion in each case for the Eury. 3ne2plaining to Euries the test which they should apply to
determine whether the negligence in the particular case
amounted or did not amount to a crime! Eudges have used many
epithets! such as :culpable!% :criminal%! :gross%! :wic$ed%! :clear%!
:complete.% ut whatever epithet be used and whether an
epithet be used or not! in order to establish criminal liability the
facts must be such that! in the opinion of the! Eury! the
negligence of the accused went beyond a mere matter of compensation% between r subEects and showed such disregard
for the life and safety of others as to amount to a crime against
the -tate and conduct deserving punishment./
3n Kur-an +ussein Mohamed &li (anga/alla v. State o#
Maharashtra0dealing with -ection >=@# of 3P1!To impose criminal liability under -ection >=@M#! 3ndian Penal
1ode! it is necessary that the death should have been the direct
result of a rash and negligent act of the accused! and that act
must be the pro2imate and eAcient cause without the
intervention of another%s negligence. 3t must be the causa
causansK it is not enough that it may have been the causa sine
+ua non./
The same view has been reiterated in Kishan hand &nr. v.
3he State o# +ar)ana14
7 *679;, 5 -1C 955
6= *67 -11 7=@
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3n 5uggankhan v. 3he State o# Madh)a radesh11! the
accused! a registered Homoeopath! administered 5@ drops of
stramonium and a leaf of dhatura to the patient su(ering from
guinea worm. The accused had no $nowledge of the e(ect of such substance being administered and yet he did so. 3n this
bac$ground! the inference of the accused being guilty of rash
and negligent act was drawn against him.-o! the principle which emerges is that a doctor who
administers medicine $nown to or used in a particular branch of
medical profession impliedly declares that he has $nowledge of
that branch of science and if he does not! in fact! possess that
$nowledge! he is prima facie acting with rashness ornegligence.
3n Dr. 6a7man Balkrishna 5oshi v. Dr.3rim-ak Bapu
8od-ole and ¬her 12! the 1ourt held that a person who
holds himself out ready to give medical advice and treatment
impliedly underta$es that he is possessed of s$ill and
$nowledge for that purpose. -uch a person when consulted by a
patient owes him certain duties! viz.! a duty of care in deciding
whether to underta$e the case! a duty of care in deciding what
treatment to be given or a duty of care in the administration of
that treatment. # breach of any of those duties gives a right of
action for negligence to the patient.3n $ndian Medical &ssociation v. V.. Shantha and Ors.19 a
threeMJudge ench decision. The principal issue which arose for
decision by the 1ourt was whether a medical practitioner
renders :service% and can be proceeded against for :deciency
in service% before a forum under the 1onsumer Protection #ct!66 *679;, 6 -1C 6@
65 *6797, 6 -1C 5=9
6> *677;, 9 -11 9;6
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6789. The court held that professional men should possess a
certain minimum degree of competence and that they should
e2ercise reasonable care in the discharge of their duties. 3n
general! a professional man owes to his client a duty in tort as
well as in contract to e2ercise reasonable care in giving adviceor performing services.
3n oonam Verma v. &sh/in atel and Ors1% a doctor
registered as medical practitioner and entitled to practice in
Homoeopathy only! prescribed an allopathic medicine to the
patient. The patient died. The doctor was held to be negligent
and liable to compensate the wife of the deceased! since he
trespassed into a prohibited eld and prescribed the allopathicmedicine to the patient causing the death! his conduct
amounted to negligence per se actionable in civil law.
3n &chutrao +ari-hau Khod/a and Ors. v. State o#
Maharashtra and Ors1'! the 1ourt noticed that in the very
nature of medical profession! s$ills di(ers from doctor to doctor
and more than one alternative course of treatment are
available! all admissible
3n State o# +arvana and Ors. v. Smt. Santra1* ! olam%s test
has been approved. This case too refers to liability for
compensation under civil law for failure of sterilization operation
performed by a surgeon.
6@ *6779, @ -11 >>5
6; *6779, 5 -11 9>@
69 *5===, ; -11 685
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3n 5aco- Mathe/ v. State o# unja- and &nr 1,! it was not
the case of the complainant that the accused was not a doctor
+ualied to treat the patient whom he agreed to treat. 3t is a
case of nonMavailability of o2ygen cylinder either because of the
hospital having failed to $eep available a gas cylinder orbecause of the gas cylinder being found empty. Then! probably
the hospital may be liable in civil law but the accused cannot be
proceeded against under -ection >=@# 3P1 on the parameters of
olamGs test.
#pinion of $upreme Court in context of
Constitution
The Eudgment of the -upreme 1ourt in !il-ati Behra State o#
Orissa1 : case holds that in view of the fundamental right to life
*#rticle 56 of the 1onstitution, the overnment cannot claim
Nsovereign immunityN for liability for the negligence of its
employees.
The right to health and health care is protected under #rticle 56
of the 1onstitution of 3ndia! as a right to life and reach of which
can move the -upreme 1ourt on High 1ourt through writ
petition. Practice of medicine is capable of rendering great
service to the society provided due care! sincerity! eAciency
and s$ill are observed by doctors. "hen doctors performed
their duties towards the patient negligently in a overnment
hospital! the servants of the state violated the fundamental
right of the patient! guaranteed under #rticle 56 of the
1onstitution.
'edical profession has its own ethical parameters and code of
conduct. G-ervicesG of medical establishments are more of
6< #3C 5==; -1 >68=
68 #3C 677> -1 679=
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purchasable commodities and the GbusinessG altitude have given
an impetus to more and more malpractices and instances of
neglect. ut the +uestion is! whether! on the whole! branding
the entire medical community as a delin+uent community would
serve any purpose or will it cause damage to the patients. Theanswer is! no doubt! the later. 3t is not that measures to chec$
such dereliction are absent. )ictims of medical negligence!
considering action against an erring doctor! have three options.
• 1ompensatory mode M -ee$ nancial compensation before
the 1onsumer Bisputes Cedressal Dorum or before 1ivil
1ourts.
• Punitive?Beterrent mode M Lodge a criminal complaint
against the doctor.• 1orrective? Beterrent mode M 1omplaint to the -tate
'edical 1ouncil demanding that the doctorGs license be
revo$ed.
Medical negligence in India
'an is the only animal who believes in $eeping order in hisworld. This was one of the reasons that he invented the
concept of law. Law helped every man who su(ered from an
inEury due to the acts committed by others! to see$ remedy by
means of compensation or punishment to the person
committing that act. 3t was in this time that the eld of
medicine was developing. -ince no man is perfect in this world!
it is evident that a person who is s$illed and has $nowledge
over a particular subEect can also commit mista$es during his
practice. -uch mista$es in the medical profession may lead to
minor inEuries or some serious $inds of inEuries and sometimes
these $inds of mista$es may even cause death. 3n such
situations there arises a need for a remedy to the inEured
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people so that Eustice is upheld and this gave rise to the
concept of medical negligence.
Professional negligence! more specically! medical negligence
is! as the term suggests! relates to the medical profession andis the result of some irregular conduct on the part of any
member of the profession or related service in discharge of
professional duties. ut rst of all it is essential for us to
analyze what the terms remedy! legal right! legal duty and
most importantly negligence mean.
0egligence is the breach of a legal duty to care. Thus legal duty
of a person means the duty the law gives to every person to
respect the legal rights of the other. Therefore the legal right of
a person can be dened as the provisions provided by law to
protect the interests of its citizen. "e must remember then that
where there is a legal right! there is a legal remedy for it. This is
inferred from the ma2im ubi Eus ibi remedium/.
'edical negligence can be seen in various elds li$e when
reasonable care is not ta$en during operations! during the
diagnosis! during delivery of the child! with issues dealing with
anesthesia etc. -ince this eld is very vast we will limit
ourselves in understanding the basic concepts which are
essential for the negligence to be committed. "e shall also loo$
into the remedies that the law provides to these patients andon whom the burden of proof lies and when this burden of proof
shifts to the other party. "e would also be discussing in the
following pages the defenses used by doctors to rescue
themselves from the liability and also compare all these things
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with the nglish law and also loo$ into the similarities that the
3ndian law and nglish law share.
Component of medical negligence
"ineld stated that a negligent act comprises of three main
components. They are
• 2istence of legal duty.
• reach of legal duty.
• Bamage caused by the breach
3n order to understand the correct meaning of medical negligenceit is essential that we carefully analyze these components
because only after we analyze these components will we be able
to understand the remedies that the law provides us.
• ;7istence o# legal duty "henever a person approaches
another trusting him to possess certain s$ill! or special
$nowledge on a given problem the second party is under an
implied legal duty to e2ercise due diligence as is e2pected to
act at least in such a manner as is e2pected in the ordinary
course from his contemporaries. -o it is not that the legal
duty can only be contractual and not otherwise. Dailure on
the part of such a person to do something which was
incumbent so! that which would be Eust and reasonable
tantamount to negligence. very time a patient visits a
doctor for his ailments he does not enter into any written
contract but there is a contract by implication and any lac$
of proper care can ma$e the erring doctor liable for breach of professional duty.
• Breach o# legal dut) There is a certainly a breach of legal
duty if the person e2ercising the s$ill does something which
an ordinary man would not have done or fails to do that
which an ordinary prudent man would have done in a similar
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situation. The standards are not supposed to be of very high
degree or otherwise! but Eust the relative $ind! that is
e2pected from man in the ordinary course of treatment.
• Damages caused -) the -reach The wrong! the inEury
occasioned by such negligence is liable to be compensated 3n terms of money and the courts apply the well settled
principles for determination of the e2act li+uidated amount.
"e must remember that no hard and fast rule can be laid
down for universal application. "hile awarding
compensation! the consumer forum has to ta$e into account
all relevant factors and assess compensation on the basis of
accepted legal principles on moderation. 3t is for the
consumer forum to decide whether the compensationawarded is reasonable! fair and proper according to the facts
and circumstances of the case.
The liability of the person committing the wrong can be of three
types depending on the harm caused by him to the inEured
person! they are
• ivil lia-ilit) : #s mentioned before! the person who
possesses special $nowledge and s$ill in a eld and uses this$nowledge to treat the other person then he owes a duty of
acre to the other person. 3f a wrong is committed by him in
this period! then he is liable to pay damages in the form of
compensation to him. 3n some situation senior doctors or the
hospital authorities can also be vicariously held liable for the
wrongs committed by Eunior doctors.
• riminal lia-ilit) There may be an occasion when the
patient has died after the treatment and criminal case is ledunder section >=@# of the 3P1 of allegedly causing death by
rash or negligent act. The commencement or pendency of
criminal trial would not act as bar to parallel civil
proceedings for recovery of money or a consumer complaint
nor can the same be stayed.
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ut there are large numbers of cases where criminal law and civil
laws can run side by side. The two remedies are not mutually
e2clusive but clearly coMe2tensive and essentially di(er in their
conte2t and conse+uence. The obEect of the criminal law is to
punish an o(ender who committed the negligence but in civil lawthe obEective is not to punish but to get compensation from the
other person.
$tandard of care reuired in India
There was considerable ambiguity on the standard of care
re+uired to be e2ercised by medical practitioners in order todischarge possible criminal liability arising out of their acts or
omissions. -ection >=@M# of the 3ndian Penal 1ode! 689= O3P1
prescribes punishment for death due to rash or negligent conduct
of a person. 3t is under this section that doctors or other medical
practitioners have generally been proceeded against under
criminal law. ven though there is protection given to accidents
caused during performance of lawful acts O-ection 8=! 3P1 and
acts not intended to cause death and done for the person%sbenet by his consent and in good faith O-ection 88! 3P1! the fear
of criminal liability has been lingering while performance of their
duty even today.
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%est used in India3n determining the test for medical negligence and prosecution of
medical practitioners! the -upreme 1ourt of 3ndia has also issued
certain guidelines. "hat goes to the basis of these guidelines is
that once a criminal investigation begins against a doctor! the
loss of reputation is nearly irreversible. 3t has also been ta$en
into account that since the nature of wor$ that doctors perform is
one involving public service! it is even more necessary that
certain guidelines be issued in this regard.
• overnment of 3ndia along with the 'edical 1ouncil of
3ndia should formulate certain rules?regulations etc to
regulate aspects of negligence in medical practice. "hile
this e2ercise is pending! the following guidelines must be
$ept in mind while prosecuting medical practitioners.
• To ma$e a case against a doctor! a private complainant
has to submit evidence of a prima facie case before the
authority ta$ing cognizance of the act. -uch authority
must also include credible opinion given by another
competent doctor to support his case.
• The investigating oAcer must also! independently! obtain
an impartial ad unbiased opinion of a doctor who practices
in the same eld in the same regard.
• The doctor concerned should not be arrested li$e in a
regular prosecution. He may be arrested if there is a fear
that the doctor will not ma$e he himself available forinvestigation.
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Conclusion
3n 3ndia almost every day there is a case of medical negligence
which is seen. 3t is seen in the big as well as in the small
hospitals! clinics! dispensaries etc. Bue to this a number of
people are su(ering in our country. The most common type of
medical negligence is seen in operations and during the
delivery of the child etc. a number o cases has been led
against doctors who negligently leave their surgical
instruments in the body of the patient etc. still a number of
doctors leave their instruments in the stomach of the patient
which could be fatal. 3n 3ndia doctors are treated as gods!
hence when some $ind of negligent acts are carried out by
them! they thin$ that it was the wish of god and don%t ma$e the
doctor responsible for this. 3lliteracy is another big factor that isnot letting our people to $now what $inds of wrongs are being
committed in our country. Fur country is facing a terrible time
today as the doctors also are ta$ing advantage of poor people
and are ma$ing their service sector! a prot oriented sector and
changing their vision from providing good health to gaining
prots from innocent people by as$ing them to undergo 6===
tests before treating them for a common cold. The environment
in the hospitals li$e the cleanliness etc is also not maintainedby most of the hospitals not only in the rural region but also in
the urban region which results in the spread of communicable
diseases faster and easier.
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The rela2ed behavior by the people! by the hospital authorities
and the government oAcers who chec$ these places has
resulted in the rela2ed behavior of the doctors! which is the
main reason that the number of cases of medical negligence is
increasing. 3n my opinion if the common people with thesupport of the government impose rules on these hospitals and
also see to it that these rules are implemented then there is a
chance that the standards of our hospitals would improve and
automatically the s$ill and $nowledge of specialized and
authorized doctors would be used to the fullest. "e must also
spread awareness in the rural areas so that poor people don%t
get e2ploited and ght for their rights and as$ for the re+uired
remedy from the medical practitioner causing them the harm.
C#N%EN%
3ntroduction
Judicial 3nterpretation of 'edical 0egligence under 1onsumer
Protection
2tended ambit of medical negligence ssential 1omponents of 'edical 0egligence
"hat is an accepted medical practice4
Ces 3psa lo+uitur
'edical Professionals in 1riminal Law
Fpinion of -upreme 1ourt in conte2t of 1onstitution
'edical negligence in 3ndia
1omponent of medical negligence
• 2istence of legal duty.
• reach of legal duty.• Bamage caused by the breach
-tandard of care re+uired in 3ndia
Test used in 3ndia
1onclusion
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&C'N#W!E()EMEN%
3 would li$e to e2press my gratitude and appreciation to all those
who gave me the possibility to complete this proEect. # special
than$s to my teacher! 'iss ! whose help!
stimulating suggestions and encouragement! helped me to
coordinate my proEect especially in writing this report.
3 would li$e to e2press my gratitude towards my parents for their
$ind coMoperation and encouragement which help me in
completion of this proEect.
'y than$s and appreciations also go to my colleague in
developing the proEect and people who have willingly helped me
out with their abilities.
Qasmin Rhanam
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*I*!I#)R&P+,
Catanlal and BhiraElal! Laws of Torts! 5@th edition! 5==5!edited by Justice .P.-ingh
The 1onsumer Protection #ct! 6789.
Law of tort! by P.-.# Pillai! astern boo$ company.
Law and medical ethics! by 'ason and 'c 1all -mith! o2ford
university press www.lehalserviceindia
www.indian$anoon!com
www.Eestor.com
http://www.lehalserviceindia/http://var/www/apps/conversion/tmp/scratch_4/http:%2F%2Fwww.indiankanoon,comhttp://www.jestor.com/http://www.jestor.com/http://var/www/apps/conversion/tmp/scratch_4/http:%2F%2Fwww.indiankanoon,comhttp://www.lehalserviceindia/
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Pro-ect#n
Role of Judiciary in MedicalProfession
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-ubmitted to 'iss-ubmitted by Qasmin Rhanam
#.LL. *Hons, 3) Qear *8th sem, -ection #