HC directs TN Medical Council to probe Doctor's complaint

The Madras High Court today directed the Tamil Nadu State Medical Council to consider and dispose on merit and as per law the complaints given by a doctor to probe and take action against those doctors responsible for "criminal negligence" in treating his father, who was suffering from cancer and died last year.
Allowing a plea by Dr Easwaran DNB, FRCS, Justice K K Sasidharan observed that any breach by medical professionals in their duty would give a cause of action to the aggrieved to initiate disciplinary proceedings for professional misconduct before the State Medical Council concerned.
The petition sought a direction to Tamil Nadu and Indian Medical Council, to investigate and take appropriate action against those doctors who were responsible for the "criminal negligence" in treating his father.

Dr Easwaran, a surgeon, said in his petition that he took his father for treatment for cancer in a private corporate hospital here in April 2010. He alleged that the surgeon, anaesthetist, the medical superintendent and the hospital were highly negligent and the cancer recurred within a year. It was mainly on account of 'botched up' operation and the failure to give radiotherapy which was essential to prevent recurrence of cancer, he alleged.
Dr Easwaran, who was temporarily abroad, returned to India in January 2011, and found that the tumours were bigger. He got his father operated in another hospital in April 2011, but the cancer spread to other parts of the body and he died in January last year.

Easwaran said he complained to the Tamil Nadu Medical Council as well as Medical Council of India. Though the MCI asked the Tamil Nadu Medical Council to investigate the complaint within six months, the latter said it had no power to take action relating to medical negligence. Only in case of professional misconduct, action could be taken, it said.

Easwaran then moved the Court.
Invoking the concept that a medical practitioner owed a duty of care to his patient and that the breach of such duty would amount to professional misconduct, Justice Sasidharan said the state medical council was not correct in its contention that it had no jurisdiction to initiate disciplinary action.

He then directed the council to consider complaints and dispose it of on merits without in any way being influenced by the present order, within six months.