Doctors not liable for wrongs due to mischance, misadventure or error of judgement: SC

The Supreme Court on Wednesday said doctors can provide the best medical assistance available at their command but it could not be considered a case of post-operative medical negligence, just because they could not save the patient.

"A medical practitioner is not to be held liable simply because things went wrong from mischance or misadventure or through an error of judgment in choosing one reasonable course of treatment in preference to another," a bench of Justices Ajay Rastogi and Abhay S Oka said.

The top court pointed out that in the practice of medicine, there could be varying approaches to treatment. There could be a genuine difference of opinion. However, while adopting a course of treatment, the duty cast upon the medical practitioner is that he must ensure that the medical protocol being followed by him is to the best of his skill and with competence at his command.

"At the given time, the medical practitioner would be liable only where his conduct fell below that of the standards of a reasonably competent practitioner in his field," the bench added.

The bench dismissed an appeal filed by Dr Chanda Rani Akhouri and others against a decision of the National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission, which rejected their claim for damages to the tune of Rs 95.16 lakh against a nursing home and its doctors for postoperative negligence, resulting into death of her husband Naveen Kant within months after kidney transplant in 1995.

The top court noted the treating doctors in the case were experts in the field of nephrology and all post-operative medical care protocol available at their command was administered to the patient.

"Still his physical condition deteriorated and finally he could not be saved, which is really unfortunate, but there cannot be legal recourse to what is being acceptable to the destiny...We realise the pain of losing her husband and the trauma she has suffered, but that cannot translate into a legal remedy," the bench added.

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