MEDICAL PROFESSIONALS UNDER CONSUMER PROTECTION ACT, 2019 - AN ANALYSIS

Abstract

Negligence plays a pivotal role in law. The law of wrongs, popularly known as the law of torts is based on negligence. It was in 1986 when for the first time one such tort of negligence was covered through Consumer Protection Act (COPRA) to protect the rights of innocent consumers at large. However, in the statute the "health care" amenities were not in the preview of the act, but it was grasped though judicial pronouncements and since then healthcare was treated as a service under the act. After about 33 years of the enactment of COPRA, 1986, was replaced with Consumer Protection Act, 2019. When the bill for the Consumer Protection Act was placed before the houses of the parliament it created ruckus in the medical fraternity as in the bill the term "health care" was specifically included in the ambit of services. The doctors showed speculative apprehension of its mishandling which could undermine the entire community. This in turn forced the legislatures to drop the same from the bill. Therefore, this article is an attempt to compare the application of the acts. The scope of the comparison will remain limited to health care workers. The article focuses on real time execution of the statute and an effort for striking a balance between the liabilities of a doctor in case of any negligence in general and preventing health care workers from unnecessary accusations in particular.