Blaming doctors and hospitals, and suing them is turning out to be an epidemic of sorts. It is one thing to make accusations on perceived negligence, but quite another to drag them for the most frivolous of reasons.

Using diagrams to explain complicated procedures to patients is perhaps uncommon, but such pro-active steps come in very handy, especially in court case, a fact that this story demonstrates.

Can a doctor be held negligent if a diagnosed and under-treatment ailment shows symptoms of another ailment? No. Not unless the other ailment is diagnosed and treated on time, as this case demonstrates.

Is a hospital vicariously liable for an act of negligence committed by its doctors, whether part time or full time? Yes, and the following case is one such example of this law.

Law accepts that choosing the line of treatment is a doctor’s prerogative as long as it is within accepted standard protocol. Patients do not have a say in this aspect, and this case demonstrates the fact.

Patients concealing medical records and selectively presenting them in court case to suit their agenda is a trend fast catching up. Healthcare providers must exercise caution – one way of securing themselves from such mischief is to preserve their own copies of medical records.

The patient had complain of kidney stones and was taken to Dr. Sidhu who performed ureteroscopic procedure to remove the stones and placed a DJ stent.