Unit 3 of Law and Medicine (syllabus: Module 3 — negligence and contributory negligence, medical errors and accidents, the Consumer Protection Act 2019 and medical services, violence against doctors, and criminal-law remedies). Below: what the unit covers, the provisions it turns on, and the cases an examiner expects you to name.
What this unit covers
- What must a patient prove to establish medical negligence?
- By what standard is a doctor's conduct judged?
- When does an error of judgment or a mishap become negligence?
- How may a patient prove negligence he did not see, and how far may the doctor blame the patient?
- Are medical services covered by consumer law, and which patients are consumers?
- Where does a patient file a consumer complaint, within what time, and what can he get?
- When is a doctor criminally liable for a patient's death?
- What protections does a doctor have against a criminal prosecution and against violence?
Treat that list as a self-test: recite each topic's rule from memory before you open its cases.
Provisions
- Consumer Protection Act 2019, s. ss. 2(7), 2(11), 2(42)
- Consumer Protection Act 2019, s. ss. 34, 35, 39, 69, 100
- Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita 2023, s. s. 106(1)
- Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita 2023, s. ss. 106(1) and 121
Leading cases
- Laxman Balkrishna Joshi v Trimbak Bapu Godbole
- Bolam v Friern Hospital Management Committee
- Whitehouse v Jordan
- Indian Medical Association v V.P. Shantha
- Jacob Mathew v State of Punjab
Full case summaries
- Laxman Balkrishna Joshi v Trimbak Bapu Godbole (1969)
- Kusum Sharma v Batra Hospital and Medical Research Centre (2010)