Medical Negligence and Duty of Care in Nepal: A Legal and Ethical Analysis

TL;DR

This paper examines medical negligence and duty of care in Nepal, highlighting the need for a stronger legal framework to protect patients and healthcare professionals.

Contribution

The paper proposes a dedicated Medical Negligence Act for Nepal to address legal and ethical gaps in healthcare.

Findings

Key elements of medical negligence include duty, dereliction, direct causation, and damage.

Nepalese cases like the Infant Amputation Case show increasing awareness of patient rights.

International legal precedents influence standards of care and informed consent in Nepal.

Abstract

Medical negligence, a critical intersection of ethical obligations and legal standards, is an evolving concern in Nepal’s medico-legal landscape. This article explores the concept of duty of care, which is fundamental to medical negligence, and emphasizes the need for a robust legal framework to ensure justice for both the patients and the healthcare professionals. The key elements of negligence: duty, dereliction, direct causation, and damage are examined alongside international precedents like Donoghue v. Stevenson, Bolam v. Friern Hospital, Bo-litho v. City and Hackney and Montgomery v. Lanarkshire, which shape standards of care and informed consent. In Nepal, cases such as the Infant Amputation Case, Dr. D.B. Shah v. Srijana KC and the Sterilization Malpractice Case highlight the growing recognition of patient rights and institutional accountability. This article advocates for a dedicated Medical Negli-gence Act to strengthen legal protections, emphasizing expert testimony, informed consent, and institutional responsibility to foster a balanced, ethical, and just healthcare system.