There was a piece on “Proving Medical Negligence” in MoneyLife, edited by the renowned Sucheta Dalal, of 12th April 07.
Taking a doctor/ hospital to court should always be an objective decision and not riddled with emotions or misguided by some with vested interests.
I would like to add a few points here:
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I sincerely hope this judgment will force doctors to shift from “main hoon na” to “We are a team” approach. Today when a large percentage of medical/ healthcare is technology dependent, more so in the realms of surgery and post op care, a Team approach is what is most beneficial to the consumer. Not only all specialties of doctors but nurses, technicians, bio-medical engineers and physicists all play a major role and together lead the consumer on path to recovery.
Few tips for those planning to take a Dr/hospital to court:
1. - Was the negligence an act of omission or an act
of commission?
2. - Was there any similar act of omission or
commission on part of the complainant i.e. not following instructions/
resorting to some other therapy without consulting the attending doctor/
withholding of valuable information etc
3. - Has some quantifiable damage occurred? The issue
here is negligence and NOT mere carelessness; it is carelessness where there is
a duty of taking care and where failure in that duty causes damage. Negligence
unproductive of damage will not give rise to an action but negligence causing
damage will give rise to an action – civil or criminal. In order to achieve
success in an action for negligence a plaintiff must be able to establish to
the satisfaction of the court that he/ she has sustained an actual loss or
injury, which springs from the negligence of the defendant (doctor). If he can
prove this, he is entitled to damages in terms of money. (quoted from text
book of medical jurisprudence)
4. - Even today, close to 80% of suits filed are
dismissed as the courts find NO basis for litigation but each such case promotes
excess investigations/ referrals as each doctors wants to keep himself safe. We
are today ordering more scans just for ‘dekh lete hain; kuch miss na ho
jaye’
On our portal we do provide tips on
-- How to avoid litigation - http://www.indiandoctorsguide.com/non-clinical/legal/preventive-measures/
--- Dos & Don’ts - http://www.indiandoctorsguide.com/non-clinical/legal/dos-donts/
Not saying NO to genuine litigation for negligence, let us pray, we don’t get ambulance chasers in India!
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