Negligence In Medical Profession

Medical Profession is one of the oldest profession and most humanitarian one. Doctors in India are treated as second life savers after God. The standard of care from doctors and hospital authority is expected to be more in comparison with other cases of negligence. So proper care must be taken by the authorities and the doctors side to avoid medical negligence.

Any negligence by an act or omission of a medical practitioner in performing his/her duty is known as medical negligence. Medical negligence happens when the medical practitioner fails to provide the care which is expected in each case thus resulting in injury or death of the patient.

It is important to know what constitutes medical negligence. A doctor owes certain duties to the patient

This trend is clearly discernible from the recent spurt in litigation concerning medical professional or establishment liability, claiming redressal for the suffering caused due to medical negligence, vitiated consent, and breach of confidentiality arising out of the doctor-patient relationship. The patient-centered initiative of rights protection is required to be appreciated in the economic context of the rapid decline of State spending and massive private investment in the sphere of the health care system and the Indian Supreme Court 's painstaking efforts to Constitutionalize a right to health as a fundamental right. As of now, the adjudicating process with regard to medical professional liability, be it in a consumer forum or a regular civil or criminal court, considers common law principles relating to negligence, vitiated consent, and breach of confidentiality. However, it is equally essential to note that the protection of patient 's right shall not be at the cost of professional integrity and autonomy. There is definitely a need for striking a delicate balance. Otherwise, the consequences would be

In other words, the doctor is not liable for every injury suffered by a patient. He is liable for only those that are a consequence of a breach of his duty. Hence, once the existence of a duty has been established, the plaintiff must still prove the breach of duty and the causation. In case there is no breach or the breach did not cause the damage, the doctor will not be liable. In order to show the breach of duty, the burden on the plaintiff would be to first show what is considered as reasonable under those circumstances and then that the conduct of the doctor was below this degree. It must be noted that it is not sufficient to prove a breach, to merely show that there exists a body of opinion which goes against the practice/conduct of the