Supreme Court News: The Supreme Court on Friday said doctors can be held liable for negligence only if they do not have the requisite qualifications and skills or do not exercise proper expertise during treatment.
Justice P.S. The bench of Justice Narasimha and Justice Pankaj Mithal said that when the doctor has taken the required precautions while treating the patient, then it would not be a case of negligence in taking this action, provided it is not proved wrong.
Surgery was done in 1996
The Supreme Court made this comment while rejecting the order of the National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (NCDRC), in which the doctor was held negligent. According to the complainant, his minor son was found to have a congenital defect in his left eye, which required a minor surgery. Dr. Neeraj Sood performed the surgery in 1996 at the Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER), Chandigarh.
The doctor was accused of irregularities in the procedure
The complainant alleged that the physical deformity found in his son could have been corrected with a minor operation, as the boy did not have any other eye disease. The doctor was accused of tampering with the procedure, due to which the boy’s condition deteriorated after the surgery. After this, the complainant accused Dr. Sood and PGIMER of medical negligence, which was rejected by the State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission in 2005. Aggrieved by the above decision, the complainants filed an appeal with the NCDRC.
could not present evidence
The NCDRC rejected the decision of the State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission and held the doctor and the hospital jointly and severally liable to pay compensation of Rs 3 lakh and Rs 50,000 for negligence in treatment. Dr. Sood and PGIMER filed an appeal in the Supreme Court challenging the NCDRC order, in which the Supreme Court found that the complainants did not present any evidence to prove negligence on the part of Dr. Sood or PGIMER.
It is not necessary that the patient’s condition improves
The bench said that it is not necessary that the deterioration in the patient’s condition after surgery was due to improper or inappropriate surgery. The Supreme Court said, “It is not necessary in the case of surgery or such treatment that there should be improvement in the condition of the patient in every case.” And the surgery is successful as per the patient’s satisfaction. It is quite possible that such complications may arise in some rare cases, but this does not constitute any actionable negligence on the part of the medical expert.”
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