Surgical scissors left in abdomen is covered under which doctrine -
Res ipsa loquitur: means the thing or fact speaks for itself. Here the patient has to merely state the act of negligence. It must satisfy the conditions that in the absence of negligence, the injury would not have occurred ordinarily, the doctor had exclusive control over the injury-producing treatment or instrument and the patient was not guilty of contributory negligence. The case can be proved without medical evidence. Medical maloccurrence: in spite of good medical attention and care, an individual fails to respond properly or may suffer from adverse reactions of the drug. Therapeutic misadventure: is a case in which an individual has been injured or had died due to some unintentional act by a doctor or agent of the doctor or the hospital. eg: hypersensitivity reaction caused by penicillin, aspirin, etc. Novus actus interveniens: if the doctor is negligent, which results in a detion from the logical sequence of events, then the responsibility for the subsequent disability or death may pass from the original incident to the later negligent action of the doctor. eg: leaving of a swab or surgical instrument in the abdomen after the repair of an internal injury. Ref: Dr.K.S.Narayana Reddy, The Essentials of Synopsis of Forensic Medicine & Toxicology, 34th edition Pg.37,38,44.
Res ipsa loquitur
Medical maloccurrence
Therapeutic misadventure
Novus actus interveniens
Medical Jurisprudence