NCDRC exonerated doctor accused of operating on cancer patient without obtaining Biopsy report

Reiterating the Supreme Court's observation that every death occurring in a hospital does not necessarily amount to medical negligence, the National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (NCDRC) recently exonerated a doctor, accused of operating on a cancer patient without obtaining a Biopsy report. The bench noted that the doctor had performed only an Excisional Biopsy to confirm cancer, which is a prescribed method to diagnose Cancer, and it does not come within the purview of surgery.

While considering the matter, the Apex Consumer Court relied on the Supreme Court order in the case of Devarakonda Suryasesha Mani v Care Hospital, Institute of Medical Sciences, where the Apex Court had held that "Every death in an institutionalized environment of a hospital does not necessarily amount to medical negligence on a hypothetical assumption of lack of due medical care."