West Bengal Clinical Establishment Regulatory Commission Cannot Adjudicate Medical Negligence Matters: Calcutta HC

The Calcutta High Court has observed that the West Bengal Clinical Establishment Regulatory Commission cannot adjudicate matters or issues regarding medical negligence.

The Bench of Justice Arijit Banerjee and Justice Apurba Sinha Ray allowed the appeal filed by the BM Birla Heart Research Centre and observed that,"The negligence in detection of diseases and the allegation of not giving proper medicines to the patient and further improper diagnosis of the diseases are all matters or issues of medical negligence. Therefore, the said issues cannot be adjudicated by the Commission. There was no sufficient material on record to hold, that delay, if any, was caused only because of the clinical establishment and not from the side of the patient party."

In the same vein, it was further said that,"the issues of patient care service are dependent upon the competence of the concerned doctor or the ECG technician, and such technical issues which are required to be addressed before the specialised branch, could not be adjudicated by the Hon’ble Commission."

Counsel Aniruddha Chatterjee, along with others, appeared for the appellant, while Counsel Sirsanya Bandopadhyay and Counsel Arka K Nag appeared for the State.

The appellant organization faced a complaint at WBCERC following the complainant's mother's death, accusing them of negligence, delayed patient shifting, improper medication, misdiagnosis, and misleading the patient party.

The Commission, after reviewing affidavits and reports, found the appellants culpable of significant deficiencies in patient care and ordered them to pay Rs 20 lakh to the complainant. The appellant challenged this order before a Single Judge, who affirmed the commission's findings, leading to the appeal.

The High Court noted that the Single Judge was not properly assisted in considering that when the professional misconduct of a doctor is to be adjudicated by a specialized branch under a statute, and rules made thereunder, the Commission could not have entered into such an arena. In that context, it was further said that, "The Learned Single Judge was not assisted in coming to the conclusion regarding the standard or degree of competence required for a medical professional. The learned Single Judge was also not assisted by drawing His Lordship’s attention to the fact that sufficient opportunities were not given to the concerned doctor for refuting the allegation brought against him."

In light of the same, the Court set aside the order of the Single Judge and the Commission.

The Court also clarified that the aggrieved persons were at liberty to agitate all the issues regarding medical negligence and deficient patient care service before the appropriate forum under the National Medical Commission Act.

Cause Title: B. M. Birla Heart Research Centre vs State of West Bengal & Ors.

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