A recent Calcutta High Court judgment highlights a tragic medical incident in which twenty-two patients suffered severe, irreversible visual impairment after routine cataract surgeries at a public hospital. This case underscores deficiencies even in seemingly standard, low-risk surgical procedures when basic clinical safety protocols fail.

Investigations revealed that the infections stemmed from microbial contamination of operative devices or solutions, or from faulty instrument sterilisation, compounded by systemic gaps such as improper OT design and a lack of trained staff. Although an inquiry medical board found no negligence, the court rejected this casual finding, holding the State government strictly liable for violating the right to life under Article 21. The court equated the right to sight with the right to life.

The court observed that performing surgeries without adequate infrastructure and trained staff constitutes rashness and is a ‘Constitutional Tort’.

This judgment clearly points out to the increasing legal scrutiny of HCPs. When routine procedures escalate into constitutional torts, doctors and hospitals operate under intense fear of legal repercussions, making them hesitant to adopt new, complex therapeutic interventions without clear legal and operational reassurance.

Safeguarding medical practice requires robust risk-mitigation frameworks that protect doctors and hospitals from infrastructural and systemic vulnerabilities. Equipping them with comprehensive medico-legal awareness is essential to foster the clinical confidence and institutional trust needed to deliver healthcare services safely.

Institute of Medicine & Law (IML) partners with healthcare and life-sciences leaders to design medico-legal education, risk-mitigation frameworks, and compliance certifications that build clinician trust.

Source: https://www.expresshealthcare.in/news/from-clinical-accountability-to-constitutional-tort-the-shift-in-medical-accountability/455129/

[This news analysis by the Institute of Medicine & Law was also published in Express Healthcare]