Criminal Proceeding for Doctors

With modern day medicine & its commercialization, one of the price the society has to pay is in terms of weakening of the doctor-patient relation trust. It results from unfavourable treatment result, increasing patient awareness & patients’ tendency to blame the doctors for their sufferings, & sometimes mere negligence itself, on the doctor’s part. Hence there is increasing trend of medical/dental litigation by unsatisfied patients. This has made the Indian Supreme Court to lay down guidelines for the criminal prosecution of the doctors, in cases where gross negligence has occurred. Hence, it is important both for the doctors as well as the patients to know this laid down protocol, which has been elaborated in this review article. Thus the aim of this review article is to present the protocol to be followed for criminal proceeding against the medical/dental professionals in cases of gross negligence.