Medical Negligence and Evolving Judicial Activism

Abstract

Medical negligence has become one of the most serious and debatable issues in the country in the last few decades. The medical profession is one of the noblest profession, not immune to negligence which often results in the death of the patient or permanent/partial disablement or any other unhappiness which has adverse effects on the patient’s health. Out of an estimated 52 lakh medical injuries in India, 98,000 people lose their lives because of medical negligence every year. It is a serious issue for the country that 10 people fall victim to medical negligence every minute and more than 11 people die every hour due to medical error in India. It is not a surprise that even the smallest error committed by a doctor have a life-altering impact on the patients. Medical Jurisprudence deals with legal responsibilities, particularly those arising out of doctorpatient relationships such as Negligence, Rights and Duties of a doctor, Consent, Professional misconduct, and medical ethics. Medical jurisprudence is applying medical knowledge to the legal field to provide justice in civil and criminal cases. It provides key legal guidelines which should be followed by a medical practitioner. As the field grew, it gave immense power to the medical practitioner as they were now playing a very important role by having an expert opinion in the cases. The area of medical jurisprudence is very ancient but with the advent of technology and the reforms being added to the legal system, this branch is always under development. The legal system in India follows the common law regime originated in England, which comprises statutes and precedents, which form part of the law of the land. The Indian judiciary is very much active when it comes to sensitive topics like medical malpractice and negligence. Over the years Indian judiciary has given progressive interpretation to laws on medical negligence and tried to safeguard the patients along with protecting doctors from vicious claims. Beginning with the efforts of the judiciary to include medical services within the ambit of the consumer protection act to providing directions about doctor’s liability and quantum of compensation, the judiciary has tried to fill all the shortcomings of the legislation. The Indian Judiciary relying on the constitution of India strives to ensure that every citizen of India gets “complete justice”. Article 142 grants power to the Supreme Court for awarding any decree to do “complete justice”. In the last few years, Article 142 has become a gigantic part of the Supreme Court which is invoked several times to decide the case on medical malpractice to do “complete justice”.