Wife's Death From Breast Cancer Sparks Medical Malpractice Lawsuit.
11 June 2024
Consumer Protection Act >> Consumer Rights | Medical Negligence >> Consumer Rights | Medical, Pharma & Healthcare >> Miscellaneous
A husband has filed a medical malpractice lawsuit against a doctor in Chhattisgarh, India, alleging negligence in treating his wife's breast cancer. The case highlights the challenges of proving medical malpractice and the importance of following established medical procedures.
The wife, Mrs. Jai Shree Sahu, initially sought treatment from Dr. Roshan Upadhyay for a lump in her breast. The lawsuit alleges that Dr. Upadhyay deviated from the standard of care by performing surgery without first conducting a biopsy to confirm the presence of cancer. The Appellants, the husband and a relative of the deceased, further claim that the surgery itself was negligent and contributed to the worsening of her condition.
Dr. Upadhyay, however, maintains that he followed proper medical protocol. He contends that he performed an excisional biopsy, a procedure used to diagnose cancer, before any surgery. The doctor argues that the Appellants' claims are unsubstantiated and lack expert medical opinion.
The case was initially dismissed by the State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission. The commission reportedly concluded that the Appellants failed to present sufficient evidence to prove medical negligence. The husband then appealed the decision.
Medical malpractice lawsuits require proving that a medical professional deviated from the expected standard of care and that this deviation caused harm to the patient. In this case, the court applied the Bolam Test, a legal principle followed in India. The Bolam Test states that a doctor is not negligent if their treatment followed a reasonable course of action, even if another course of treatment was also reasonable.
The court's decision emphasizes the importance of documented evidence and expert opinions in medical malpractice cases. Here, the lack of a medical board's assessment to support the claims of negligence seems to have played a role in the court's judgment.
The dismissal of the appeal highlights the complexities of medical malpractice lawsuits and the challenges patients' families face in holding medical professionals accountable.