Negligence can be termed as an omission to do something or not to do something under certain circumstances which an ordinary man having reasonable prudence would do. There are quite a few defenses which are used to safeguard a Doctor from frivolous litigation's of Medical Negligence. OR. However, if the plaintiff fails to establish the same, the Doctor shall not be held liable for negligence. Gurgaon’s Fortis Memorial Research Institute for the death of a 7-year old girl who suffered from dengue, have once again brought up the issue of rampant medical negligence in India in private and public hospitals. Medical Malpractice: Civil Cases. Therefore, the courts have opened a variety of options whereby the aggrieved persons can get the relief. Unexpected Results – In a case whereby during the course of treatment there has been some unexpected results which the doctor had no clue of. Medical negligence or malpractice occurs when a medical practitioner, health professional or health facility fails in their duty of care or fails to take reasonable care, causing you an injury, physical or psychological, as a result. As it has already been discussed above, the services provided by a Doctor to its patient comes under the ambit and scope of “Contract for Service”. In order to prove negligence, Damage must be proved. “Medical Negligence” is when a Doctor/Medical Practitioner who happens to owe a duty of care towards his   Patient, breaches the same by way of some misconduct or negligent act, as a result of which the Patient has suffered damages/injuries which are of physical nature, which establish proximate cause and such damages/injuries caused thereof were foreseeable. Ø The Safeguard to the Patients under this Act is available only if they have paid for such service. Or for that reason any doctor having the same area of expertise could not have foreseen the same or could have analysed the same. This is the traditional rule of negligence that, in order to prove the negligence, the plaintiff much prove that the action of the defendant which is said to be negligent in nature is the actual cause or the cause in fact for the plaintiff’s injury. The core issue in a medical malpractice case is the negligence of the physician. Based on the same and also taking into consideration the responsibility and the complexity of the service provided by the Doctors that, the judicial system has tried to make provisions whereby, 1. Failure of which shall result in penalty and punishment. However, under the same circumstances had it been a dry summer day, “X” would not be termed negligent. Or that a doctor having ordinary prudence, reason and logic could in no manner deduce such an outcome, in such a case, the doctor cannot be held liable for such unforeseen and unexpected results. It is upon the consideration of these elements that one can conclusively decide whether an act includes negligence or not. Ø Any service rendered free of cost or for a nominal registration fee shall not be covered under the scope of this Act. In case of civil medical negligence, the suit may be initiated under the Consumer Protection Act or by filing a suit in a civil court of law. Doctor’s Liability in Medical Negligence. There is a need for the code of conduct for the doctors and stabilizing their acts of professionalism. What is Medical Negligence? Civil Negligence and Criminal Negligence. But in reality, a Doctor is as much a human as we are and again as this idiom very truly justifies the same “to err is human”. Ø Any complaint against a Doctor received by the NCDRC/SCDRC/DCDRC or any Criminal Court must refer it to an expert body to confirm the allegations. healed by them and we at least expect them to be careful while discharging their Depending on who caused the injury, medical negligence claims can be brought against hospitals, hospital staff, or directly against a doctor, nurse, or other healthcare professional. Hence, they will commit mistakes. But when the negligence is the cause of harm to a patient, there may be a good case. Difference of Opinion – If under any circumstance a particular doctor has two options to chose from say “A” and “B”, both of which are well recognized methods of treatments in the medical fraternity, then, the Doctor cannot be sued merely because of the fact that he chose option “A” over “B” or vice versa. In case of Doctors, the damage must be showed as bodily harm or physical injury suffered by the plaintiff as a result of some negligent act done by the defendant which is in direct connection with the injury suffered by the plaintiff and the same was foreseeable by the defendant. From the point of view of a patient one cannot deny the fact that wrong medications, wrong treatments, negligence in operation theatre and other various forms of negligent acts are present in the system of which the patient is the lone sufferer. Types of Negligence Claims. Such cause should have been foreseeable by the defendant while discharging his duty. However, the onus of proof is on the Patient and it is he who has to prove the negligence of the Doctor. [In such a case the doctor shall not be held liable for choosing option 2 over option 1]. It is needless to say that Doctors are both jointly and severely liable for the acts done in the operation theater as a result of which if the patient is the ultimate sufferer then they should be penalized and scrutinized for the same. CASE – DR. JANAK KANTIMATHI NATHAN vs MURLIDHAR EKNATH                            MASANE. Known Complication – If in any case during the treatment there is a certain complication, as a reason of which it is well known to the doctor and the patient or so his/her family that such complication during the course of treatment may result in death of the patient and that they consent to the same and still go forward with such treatment knowing well that the result of such treatment may or may not be fruitful, The doctor cannot be held responsible for the same. That such injury is directly related to the defendant’s act. What is Civil Negligence? In my recent blog I shall be discussing the topic “Medical Negligence and Doctor’s Liability” My blog shall cover the following topics with in depth analysis for the readers to understand the essentials of the same. We can define ‘Medical negligence’ as the improper or unskilled treatment of a patient by a medical practitioner. Here, the applicant only needs to prove that an act took place that was wanting in … Even if there was a nominal registration charge for the same it is disallowed to get a relief here. The civil procedure rules in England and Wales allow for claims for medical negligence to be started within 3 years of the alleged negligence occurring or within 3 years of the victim becoming aware of possible negligence. An action must be filed in the New York court of the county with jurisdiction over the issue. The patients have their rights if treated in a negligent way               AND. 4. ', Civil Appeal No. Post Your Matter to connect with the Lawyer online. The Doctors can be punished under the following provisions of The Indian Penal Code, 1860. CASE – CALCUTTA MEDICAL RESEARCH INSTITUTE vs BIMALESH CHATTERJEE. Copyright © 2017 vidhikarya.com. An Alabama family has made recent headlines after being awarded $16 million in a medical negligence lawsuit against an Alabama hospital. In cases where the services offered by the doctors and hospital does not come under the ambit of CPA, patients can take help of tort law … In the National Commission, if the value of the goods or services and A lawyer can advise you of your legal rights and whether you have a viable claim. Civil Liability and Medical Negligence Negligence is the breach of a legal duty to care. To sum up from the above, I would say: “Medical Negligence” is when a Doctor/Medical Practitioner who happens to owe a duty of care towards his Patient, breaches the same by way of some misconduct or negligent act, as a result of which the Patient has suffered damages/injuries which are of physical nature, which establish proximate cause and such damages/injuries caused thereof were foreseeable.CASES ON MEDICAL NEGLIGENCE After already knowing what Medical Negligence … “While doctors may well be negligent in their treatment of patients, the degree of negligence required for a manslaughter conviction is high and may not be provable on the facts,” he explained. They are: 1. Further In Dr. Suresh Gupta’s Case – Supreme Court of India, 2004 – the court held that the legal position was quite clear and well settled that whenever a patient died due to medical negligence, the doctor was liable in civil law for paying the compensation. 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