ROLE OF JUDICIARY IN MEDICAL PROFESSION

8/19/2019 ROLE OF JUDICIARY IN MEDICAL PROFESSION

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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 &nother 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


22/25

&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


23/25

*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/


24/25

Pro-ect#n

Role of Judiciary in MedicalProfession


25/25

-ubmitted to 'iss-ubmitted by Qasmin Rhanam

#.LL. *Hons, 3) Qear *8th sem, -ection #

Documents

ROLE OF JUDICIARY IN MEDICAL PROFESSION