Medical Negligence – SC vindicates Doctors & Treatment
Judgment dated 9.9.2025 of the Supreme Court of India in Civil Appeal No.1662 of 2016 of Deep Nursing Home and another Vs. Manmeet Singh Mattewal and others
Death of wife and newborn child within few hours in the hospital – Medical Negligence of the Doctor & Nursing Home and deficiency in service
The respondent no.1 had lost his wife and newborn son within the span of few hours in the nursing home of the appellant.
The State Consumer Commission found the doctor and the Nursing Home guilty of medical negligence and deficiency in service. The appellants were directed to pay Rs.20,26,000/- with interest.
The National Commission dismissed both the appeals. The National Commission came to the conclusion that no liability would attach to the Deep Nursing Home and pinned the entire responsibility on the doctor.
There were five Medical Reports of the Medical Boards / Committees appointed at the behest of the respondent and as discussed in paras 17 to 21 of the judgment clearly show that there was no case of medical negligence of the doctor and deficiency in service of the nursing home. Every failure in the treatment of a patient does not automatically led to an assumption of medical negligence. The opinions of the Doctors / Experts of the Medical Boards / Committees clearly tilted the balance in favour of doctor and none of them found any medical negligence on the part of the doctor.
Simply because a patient did not favourably respond to the medical treatment or if a surgery failed, the doctor cannot be held liable per se by applying the doctrine of res ipsa loquitur.
No responsible medical professional would intentionally commit an act or omission which would result in harm or injury to a patient as the reputation of that professional would be at stake and a single failure may cost such professional in that lapse.
