KNOWLEDGE ABOUT MEDICAL LAW AND ITS NEGLIGENCE

Abstract

To assess the knowledge of health care professionals regarding medico legal aspects and its negligence.
Negligence by doctors has to be determined by judges who are not trained in medical
science. They rely on expert’s opinion and decide on the basis of basic principles of reasonableness
and prudence. This brings into a lot of subjectivity into the decision and the effort is to reduce
it and have certain objective criteria. This may sound simple but is tremendously difficult
as medical profession evolves and experimentation helps in its evolution. Thus, there is a constant
tussle between the established procedures and innovative methods, but, innovation simply
for the sake of being different, without any reason is not acceptable. These issues make it extremely
challenging to decide negligence by Doctors. The paper examines the concept of negligence
in medical profession in the light of interpretation of law by the Supreme Court of India
and the idea of the reasonable man.