Law is speciality neutral. It is only concerned with whether or not the healthcare practitioner has followed the laid standard of protocol while treating the patient. In this case, the doctor did not and hence was held negligent.

Many a times patients and their relatives drag the doctors and hospitals to court either for not receiving the desired result or alleging that they were ‘exorbitantly’ charged. Neither is a ground for medical negligence, is what courts say as it happened in this case.

Making notes diligently and appropriately in the medical records, especially during an intervention is not just crucial from patient’s safety point of view, but also for the doctor’s own legal safety. In this case, the hospital and surgeon were held negligent for their failure in recording the duration of cardiac arrest suffered by the patient in operation theatre (OT), among one other critical aspect.

Patients often rush to another healthcare provider when they do not get the desired result in the timeframe of their choice. Law is very clear on such aspects – doctors or hospitals cannot be held negligent simply because complications develop and definitely not when such complications are not even allowed to be treated.

Taking proper and complete history from patients is the safest way to save yourself from the allegations of medical negligence. This case is an excellent demonstration of this fact.

Narendra was a depressed young boy. Perhaps he was going through a lot in his life or maybe he did not have anyone to share his unbearable pain, one could not tell. He had consumed poison and was taken in a serious condition by his parents at Khera Hospital where Dr. Khera checked the boy and admitted to the hospital