Medical negligence can't be assumed solely based on failed surgery: Punjab & Haryana High Court

The Punjab and Haryana High Court recently ruled that medical negligence cannot be presumed solely based on the unsuccessful outcome of a surgery [Punjab State and others v. XXXX]..Justice Anil Kshetarpal reiterated that in the absence of any allegations questioning the surgeon's competence or claims of negligence, a suit seeking damages for medical negligence is not tenable.“The medical negligence cannot be assumed only because a surgical procedure has failed to achieve the desired result. The Supreme Court has held that in absence of allegation that the Surgeon was not competent to perform the surgery or the Surgeon was negligent, the suit for damages cannot be decreed,” the Court said in its order of November 18..The Court made these observations while overturning an award of ₹30,000 in damages granted to a woman by a court below following the failure of her sterilization procedure.The woman had undergone a sterilization procedure performed by a qualified surgeon. Despite the procedure, she gave birth to a child and she subsequently filed a suit seeking ₹90,000 as compensation along with 18 percent annual interest. The trial court dismissed her claim after noting that she failed to provide evidence of negligence. However, the first appellate court reversed this decision, presuming negligence based on the pregnancy occurring post-sterilization and awarded ₹30,000 as compensation with 6 percent interest.The State filed the present appeal before the High Court against the same..The High Court set aside the judgment of the first appellate court on the ground that the woman herself had admitted during her testimony that she had signed a consent form acknowledging the possibility of failure in the sterilization procedure. The Court noted that the consent form signed by her explicitly waived liability for procedure failure.The Court reiterated that an unsuccessful medical outcome does not inherently imply negligence. .Hence, it concluded that the presumption of negligence solely based on the procedure's failure is unsustainable.“The First Appellate Court has assumed negligence only on the basis of a presumption. From reading of the judgment passed by the trial Court, it is evident that the operating Doctor, Sh. Hardeep Sharma appeared as DW1 and stated that no assurance was given to the respondent regarding the success of the operation and she was apprised of the fact that sometimes there is failure of the operation, for which, no medical authority will be held responsible,” the High Court said.In order to award damages in the cases pertaining to medical negligence, the affected party has to lead positive evidence including the opinion of expert in appropriate cases, the Court underscored.Hence, it allowed the appeal and restored the trial court order..Senior Deputy Advocate General Salil Sabhlok appeared for the State while advocates Simran and Pardeep Goyal represented the woman..[Read Order]