Medical Negligence and Liabilities of a Doctor

Ms. Atishaya Kaushal, Advocate

(9891952134/atishayakaushal@gmail.com)

Medical Negligence and Liabilities of a Doctor

One of the most important aspects of any profession is the degree of excellence which a person practicing that profession can give in his results. 

It is not at all expected that each and every professional man would deliver the goods in the same expertise. There are so many aspects and factors that determine the relative competence of an individual in a group, vocation or a particular line of personalised and highly skilled practice. What is important is that one acts, conducts himself and discharge his duties in such a manner as would be expected from a prudent contemporary in a similar situation having access to similar facilities and in the know-how of the principles of such practice in general.

One can leave some room for factors like standards of basic education, facilities regarding initial period of training and specialised exposure, conditions of exigencies and stress while executing a given assignment and the like which in the ordinary course of day to day life are sufficient to lead to a difference of performance but certainly there is no escape at all for contumacious recklessness, blatant dereliction of duty or complete misapplication of mind which comprised of one of the above or several other acts or omissions leads to a negligent act and this untoward act is negligence.

Professional negligence, more specifically, medical negligence is that which, as the term suggests, relates to the medical profession and is the result of some irregular conduct on the part of any member of the profession or related services in discharge of professional duties. But first of all, it is important to highlight the concept of negligence itself so as to enable the readers to analyse the peculiar problems in the right perspective having regard to the diversification of the professional activities prompted to unprecedented advances in the practice of the profession and the subject to medicine and surgery as such and the inherent commercialisation of various branches thereof which ate rendering all kinds of services to the public at large.

Windfield has defined negligence as a TORT which is the breach of a legal duty to take care which results in damage, undesired by the defendant to the plaintiff. An act involving the ingredients is a NEGLIGENCE ACT.

It can very well be stated that negligence comprises of the following:

Existence of Legal Duty 👉  Breach of Legal Duty 👉 damage caused by the Breach