Medical negligence: A landmark judgment

Awareness about patients’ rights is growing in India. This trend is clearly discernible in the recent spurt in litigation concerning the liability of medical professionals and the medical establishment. The Supreme Court judgment in the Anuradha Saha medical negligence case is a landmark in the annals of medical jurisprudence. The court not only adjudicated on how to determine negligence on the part of doctors in the event of a patient’s death, but also imposed greater responsibility on them.

The judgment also reinforced the patient’s right to know the line of treatment followed by the doctors and the risks involved in the treatment. The compensation awarded was the highest in a case of medical negligence in India to date.

An extraordinary case

Mrs Saha, aged 36 years, fell victim to toxic epidermal necrolysis (TEN), when she and her husband, Dr Kunal Saha, were in India on a holiday in 1998. On 11 May 1998 she was admitted to Advanced Medicare & Research Institute hospital (AMRI) in Kolkata, where her condition deteriorated. She was later transferred by air ambulance to Breach Candy Hospital in Mumbai, where she died on 28 May 1998.

Dr Rachna Bharadwaj is an associate at Krishna & Saurastri Associates and an advocate registered with the Bar Council of India.