Friday 10 August 2012

Emedinews:Insights on Medicolegal Issues:Bolam Vs. Friern Hospital Management Committee 1957



Test for establishing medical negligence
·         The doctor is required to exercise the ordinary skill of a competent doctor in his field. He must exercise this skill in accordance with a reasonable body of medical opinion skilled in the area of medicine.
·         According to the Bolman test, negligence is the genus of which rashness is the species.
·         The latest trend of prosecution of the doctors, the term criminal negligence has come to light, which means recklessly acting without reasonable caution, hurting another person at risk of injury or death by negligence.
·         This applies to a medical practitioner when he shows gross negligence in his treatment, boding to severe injury or even death. He should not be held liable criminally for the patient’s death unless his negligence shows such regard for the life and safety of the patient as to amount to a crime.
·         The most important criterion is the degree of negligence required to prosecute them under the charge of criminal negligence, which should be gross or even high degree.
·         The jurisprudential concept of negligence differs in civil and criminal law. Negligence which is neither gross nor of a high degree may provide a ground for action in civil law but cannot form the basis for prosecution in criminal law.

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