In a landmark Indian Supreme Court judgment on medical negligence, which of the following is the most common standard applied by courts to determine whether a doctor has breached the duty of care?

Explanation

## Standard of Care in Medical Negligence: The Bolam Test **Key Point:** The Bolam test is the most widely applied and accepted standard in Indian courts to determine professional negligence. It originates from the English case *Bolam v Friern Hospital Management Committee* (1957) and has been adopted by the Indian Supreme Court in landmark judgments. ### The Bolam Test Explained The test asks: **"Would a reasonably competent professional, possessing the knowledge and skill of an ordinary member of the profession, acting in similar circumstances, have acted differently?"** If the answer is "yes," the defendant doctor has breached the duty of care. ### Application in Indian Jurisprudence **High-Yield:** The Supreme Court of India endorsed the Bolam test in *Suresh Gupta v Govt. of NCT of Delhi* (2004) and *Jacob Mathew v State of Punjab* (2005), making it the gold standard for assessing medical negligence. ### Why Bolam is Most Common | Aspect | Bolam Test | Res Ipsa Loquitur | Strict Liability | Learned Intermediary | |---|---|---|---|---| | **Burden of proof** | On plaintiff | Shifts to defendant | On plaintiff | On defendant | | **Requires expert evidence** | Usually yes | No (circumstantial) | No | Yes | | **Frequency in cases** | **Most common** | Occasional (specific scenarios) | Rare in India | Supplementary | | **Fairness to doctors** | Balanced | Balanced | Unfair (no fault) | Balanced | ### Res Ipsa Loquitur ("The Thing Speaks for Itself") Applied in specific, obvious negligence scenarios (e.g., surgical instrument left inside patient, wrong limb amputation). Does NOT require expert evidence but is used less frequently than Bolam. ### Strict Liability Not applied in medical negligence in India. Medicine is not a strict liability field; doctors are judged by the standard of care, not by outcomes. ### Learned Intermediary Doctrine Supplementary to Bolam; applies specifically to informed consent. Not the primary standard for general negligence. **Clinical Pearl:** Courts recognize that medicine involves judgment calls and that different competent doctors may choose different approaches. The Bolam test protects doctors who follow accepted medical practice while holding accountable those who deviate from it. **Mnemonic:** **BOLAM = Best Ordinary Learned And Mindful** — the standard for a reasonably competent professional.