Just like legal profession, even medical profession is a noble profession and it deals with saving lives. A doctor or a hospital is approached with a lot of expectations from the patient’s end. This is why doctors are considered to be extremely skilled in their jobs. However, there are still chances of errors and certain errors committed due to lack of care are known as medical negligence. Although a patient signs a Consent Form with the medical facility or the doctor, the right of a patient to receive appropriate treatment is a basic fundamental right under “Right to Life and Personal Liberty” covered under Article 21 of the Constitution of India. With the commission of medical negligence, this right gets violated.

The Black law dictionary defines negligence as follows:

“conduct, whether of action or omission, which may be declared and treated as negligence without any argument or proof as to the particular surrounding circumstances, either because it is in violation of  statue or valid municipal ordinance or because it is so palpably opposed to the dictates of common prudence that it can be said without hesitation or doubt that no careful person would have been guilty of it. As a general rule, the violation of a public duty, enjoined by law for the protection of person or property, so constitutes”.[1]

In the recent case of Dr. Harish Kumar Khurana v. Joginder Singh[2], the Supreme Court laid down certain guidelines for determining medical negligence. The Court stated that in order to show carelessness, there must be evidence on file or sufficient medical proof must be presented.[3] In another case of Jacob Mathew v. State of Punjab, the Supreme court held that in some cases of medical profession the doctors are equipped in certain situation where they have to make choices between a devil and the deep sea.[4]

There have been several instances where a proper analysis of medical negligence is done in order to establish the guilt of the doctor, if any. There may be unsuccessful medical cases but all of these do not occur merely due to medical negligence. Even in the most recent case of Pink City Heart and General Hospital v. Banarsi Devi and Ors.[5], it was held by the NCDRC the hospital cannot be held guilty of medical negligence as the Complainant failed to bring on record the appropriate medical evidence to prove medical negligence.