Apart from his routine and usual “clinical” cases, a doctor will come across certain cases one time or the other during the practice of his profession, which at that given time or subsequently, would be labeled as “medico-legal”.
The general belief that only the doctors working in the government hospitals would be involved with such responsibilities has now been dispelled by the recent decisions of the Hon’ble courts, particularly the Supreme Court. As such under circumstances, all practitioners of medicine will be liable to face a medico-legal case.
Many practitioners are usually apprehensive in dealing with such cases as they feel, attending an MLC (Medico-legal Case) means inviting trouble such as
‘entangling’ in police cases
‘indefinite hours’ to be spent in the court,
facing ‘unrelenting’ defense counsels to reply.
Because of this “fear-factor”, many either try to avoid the cases or try to manipulate them as non-MLC.
The best way to deal with these cases is to understand them clearly, analyze them thoroughly, and then act according to your conscience
A good working knowledge of the law in this regard, coupled with a thorough understanding of the correct method of dealing with such cases helps one to build confidence overriding the fear of MLC.
An attempt has been made to simplify the procedure in the following presentation.
