Medical Negligence Under The Legal Landscape Of Patient Safety In Indian Healthcare

Smriti Dhasmana, Amity Law School, Noida

Focus on what you can control: "Do what you can, with what you have, where you are." - Theodore Roosevelt

Medical malpractice or a negligent act is defined as a medical practitioner's or doctor's failure to give adequate treatment, leading to a breach of duty and damaging the patients who are their customers and rely on them for care and help. A professional is considered an expert in the field, a patient receiving treatment from any doctor expects to be healed and where a doctor must exercise caution while performing his job. Due to medical negligence, there have been several deaths as well as negative consequences on the patient's health.

There are two kinds of judgment errors for which doctors can be held liable:

•A mistake in judgment - It has been acknowledged that these situations do not constitute a duty violation. We cannot hold a doctor accountable for medical malpractice just because his choice proved to be incorrect.

• A mistake of judgment due to carelessness: This would be due to an error of judgment resulting from negligence if all the variables were taken into account before making a choice.