EXPLORE!

Is difference of opinion negligence?

  755 Views

eMediNexus    20 August 2021

No, a difference of opinion cannot be termed negligence. The Supreme Court of India has observed: 

  • In Bolam v. Friern Hospital Management Committee (1957) 2 All ER 118, the law was stated thus: “Where you get a situation which involves the use of some special skill or competence, then the test...is the standard of ordinary skilled man exercising and professing to have that special skill. A man need not possess the highest expert skill; it is well-established law that it is sufficient if he exercises the ordinary skill of an ordinary competent man exercising that particular Article... [A doctor] is not guilty of negligence if he has acted in accordance with a practice accepted as proper by a responsible body of medical men skilled in that particular Article.. Putting it the other way round, a [doctor] is not negligent, if he [has acted] in accordance with such a practice, merely because there is a body of opinion which [takes] a contrary view.” 1 
  • “A doctor cannot be held negligent either in regard to diagnosis or treatment or in disclosing the risks involved in a particular surgical procedure or treatment, if the doctor has acted with normal care, in accordance with recognised practices accepted as proper by a responsible body of medical men skilled in that particular field, even though there may be a body of opinion that takes a contrary view. Where there are more than one recognised school of established medical practice, it is not negligence for a doctor to follow any one of those practices, in pReferences to the others.”2

References

  1. 6 SCC 1, 334 / 2005 / SCI / 144-145 of 2004: Jacob Mathew vs State of Punjab and Anr: 5th day of August 2005: R C Lahoti, CJI: Hon’ble Mr. justice G P Mathur, Hon’ble Mr. P K Balasubramanyan
  2. SCI, Civil Appeal No. 1949 of 2004, 16.01.2008, Samira Kohli vs Dr. Prabha Manchanda and Anr, B.N. Agrawal, P.P. Naolekar and R.V. Raveendran, jj.

To comment on this article,
create a free account.

Sign Up to instantly get access to 10000+ Articles & 1000+ Cases

Already registered?

Login Now

Most Popular Articles

News and Updates

eMediNexus provides latest updates on medical news, medical case studies from India. In-depth medical case studies and research designed for doctors and healthcare professionals.