In the field of health professionals, medical negligence is an often-used term that demonstrates a deficit in doctors’ duties towards patient care. When a patient visits a doctor to consult him or her for treatment, the former trusts the latter completely. Respecting that trust as well as adhering to the ethics of the Medical profession, doctors and physicians are extremely careful to provide the best medical care to their patients. However, at times due to unintentional error on the part of the physician, nurse, non-medical staff, or even an unknown cause, medical procedures or treatment performed on patients may fail and can lead to further medical complications or even death.
Such incidents can put healthcare professionals at risk of litigation under the purview of medical negligence. And with the enactment of the Consumer Protection Act, of 1986, a growing number of disgruntled patients and family members are levying charges against hospitals, and independent physicians, making doctor professional indemnity insurance policies a necessity of the time. While it’s true that some charges hold genuine ground, most of them are frivolous in nature causing public embarrassment to the accused party coupled with the financial loss against hefty litigation fees and payouts.
An example of frivolous litigation is the following snippet from an email received by Dr. KK Karla, the chief of the National Accreditation Board of Hospitals or NABH. Catch the complete story here.
“Dear Dr. Kalra, I am reporting against Dr ****** of ***** hospital. He did a renal transplant on my uncle. But it led to complications and my uncle was in the hospital for a long. I watched the surgery on YouTube. Now I know the doctor used the wrong technique. Please take action against the doctor.”
Irrespective of how bizarre and unreasonable the text from the email may appear, it is one of many examples of callous charges that hospitals and doctors are facing on a daily basis. And this can be substantiated by the fact that the graph of medical litigation in India is up by 400% in just one decade.
What is the reason for the increase in medical litigation cases?
As per an in-house survey conducted by the National Law School of India University (NLSIU), Bangalore, the following 4 reasons have increased the instances of medical litigation in India-
- Greater consumer awareness
- Flexible consumer forums
- The cost involved in medicals services
- The litigant mindset of the general population
So, what is the exact definition of medical negligence?
Many health professionals feel trapped in catch-22 situations, wherein they hesitate to take medical decisions that entail risk, but are an essential part of treatment, and have to take it anyway in order to save the life of a patient. And then there are cases where medical blunders happen during basic and routine medical procedures and hospitals and doctors have to take the responsibility for them. For instance, an incident where a premature baby died from 80% burn injuries because of being kept in a faculty incubator is a case of gross medical negligence on a rather common medical protocol. Here, the hospital has to take the complete onus of the incident and will also be required to compensate the aggrieved party in case litigation is levied against them.
Therefore there cannot be a straightforward definition of medical negligence. Sometimes, medical negligence is caused as a result of misdiagnosis, unknown allergies, unintended medical carelessness, etc.
So, what should be the response in face of a liability situation?
At times despite best efforts, several doctors and hospitals have to face litigations due to incidental occurrences which may be genuine or frivolous. Irrespective of the case, such matters are generally sorted in the court of law, and sometimes bearing the cost of litigation, in terms of both legal representation and payout can be very expensive. And this calls for the protection of professional indemnity Insurance that covers the cost of investigation, legal representation, and compensation payouts. It is a liability insurance product designed especially for medical practitioners to cover liabilities that may arise as a result of errors and omissions which may be committed while rendering medical service. Under the scope of the policy, the insured (doctor, physician-hospital) get comprehensive coverage against medical negligence under various matters, including medical error done by an untrained or unqualified staff at the hospital or clinic.
In conclusion
One cannot deny the existence of malpractice in the field of the medical profession, and patrons of such practice should be punished by the law. But at the same time, health professionals must also be prepared for unintended matters pertaining to medical negligence which is common in the medical profession field. This can be done by following the highest standard of code and ethics and by avoiding unnecessary treatment and tests on patients, and at the same time taking adequate measures to reduce the room for mistakes.
