Medical Negligence
Medical negligence or medical malpractice is when a doctor fails to provide care and treatment to the patient as per the standards of medical practice and because of which the patient suffers harm or even death.
Medical negligence cases can be dealt under the Civil law, tort, Criminal law, or Consumer Protection Act, or even Indian Contracts Act. It depends on the nature of the case.
Kinds of Medical Negligence
- Wrong diagnoses
- Delayed diagnoses
- Wrong surgery or some error in the process of surgery
- Unnecessary surgery
- Faulty administration of anesthesia
- Malpractices in childbirth and labor, such as not giving proper care to the mother, mishandling a difficult birth case, issues in induced labor, wrong or missed diagnosis of newborn medical condition, etc.
- Negligence in long-term treatment
Essentials in a Medical Negligence Case
- There should be a doctor-patient relationship, in which the doctor (defendant) owes a duty of care to the patient (plaintiff).
- The defendant should have done a breach of duty as per law.
- The plaintiff suffered injuries or damage as a result of that breach.
Benefits to choose service
A medical negligence case is often challenging because you must prove that the defendant did wrong and you must also prove that you suffered damage due to negligence of the defendant. This may need legal assistance. You must hire a lawyer to represent your case strongly.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
“Res ipsa loquitur” is a Latin phrase that means “the things speaks for itself.” With regard to medical negligence, it means that the injury or damage speaks for itself, i.e., the injury or damage was not possible without negligence. It also means that the injury or damage happened under the doctor’s supervision and that the patient was not in a position to inflict this injury or damage upon himself/herself.
Usually, it is easier to prove such cases.
Here are a few examples:
- The surgeon mistakenly leaves an object inside the patient’s body during surgery.
- The surgeon operates the wrong patient or operates upon the wrong organ.
- The doctor gives some medication, which creates allergic reaction in the patient, despite knowing the allergic history of patient.
- The doctor gives the wrong medication.
The doctor fails to administer complete medication despite knowing the complete health report of the patient.
You can file a complaint at the State Medical Council. Depending on your case, you can also file it at the state consumer court or file a criminal lawsuit. You must hire a lawyer for this for the correct legal guidance and proceedings.