Question

Mark the best option:
Principle: The standard of care is such a degree of care as a normally skillful member of the medical profession may reasonably be expected to exercise in actual circumstances of the case in question.
Facts: Ms. Roze had difficulty in digesting food. She consulted Dr. Dhingra who after running several tests, recommended surgery for removing bowel obstruction. During the surgery, Dr. Dhingra accidentally left his towel inside Ms. Roze's stomach. Ms.Roze had to suffer grave complications and seizures. Ms. Roze ultimately died a year after her surgery. The autopsy revealed a towel in her stomach. Her heirs decided to sue the doctor for medical negligence. Can they proceed with the suit?

विकल्प

• No. The doctor did not deliberately leave the towel in her stomach.

• Yes. The doctor was not careful and did not maintain the standard of care that he should have taken.

• No. Ms. Roze should have informed the doctor about her discomfort immediately and should not have waited for long enough for it to get worse

• Yes. The doctor should have called Ms. Roze back and examined her again.

Answer 1

Yes. The doctor was not careful and did not maintain the standard of care that he should have taken.
In everyday usage, the word ‘negligence’ denotes mere carelessness. In legal sense, it signifies a failure to exercise the standard of care which the doer as a reasonable man should have exercised in the circumstances. In general, there is a legal duty to take care when it was reasonably foreseeable that failure to do so was likely to cause injury. Negligence is a mode in which many kinds of harms may be caused by not taking such adequate precautions. The same principle applies to medical negligence as well.