Maternity Hospital Case Study

In the case of Maternity Hospital & Anr. v. Santosh & Anr , National Commmission observed that in case of medical negligence, the liability of a doctor arises not when the patient has suffered any injury, but when the injury has resulted due to the conduct of the doctor, which has fallen below that of reasonable care.

SERVICES RENDERED AT A NON-GOVT. HOSPITAL / NURSING HOME
The medical practitioners, Government hospitals/nursing homes and private hospitals/nursing homes broadly fall in three categories
i. Where services are rendered free of charge to everybody availing the said services. ii. Where charges are required to be paid by everybody availing the services. iii. Where charges are required to be paid by persons availing services but certain categories of persons who cannot afford to pay are rendered services free of charge.
Doctors and hospitals who render service

Achutrao Haribhau Khodwa case and Spring Meadows Hospitals v. Harjot Ahluwalia are some illustrative cases where the Supreme Court has applied the ‘higher duty of care rule’ in deciding the negligence of the doctors. Recently the Supreme Court refrained to take a liberal approach in establishing medical negligence and emphasized on accountability and higher duty of care in medical profession in B. Jagadish v. State of A.P . In a historic judgment in Nizam’s Institute of Medical Sciences v. Prasanth S. Dhananka the Supreme Court held that “moreover, in a case involving medical negligence, once the initial burden has been discharged by the complainant by making out a case of negligence on the part of the hospital or doctor concerned, the onus then shifts on to the hospital or to the attending doctors and it is for the hospital to satisfy the Court that there was no lack of care or diligence”. In this case the Court awarded Rs. 1crore as compensation to the victim of medical