Patients hiding medical history is a big concern for doctors and hospitals. Recording such medical facts that are revealed during investigations is what the healthcare providers must do to shield themselves against allegations of negligence, as this case exemplifies.

The patient was under antenatal care (ANC) of an OBGYN. The doctor performed LSCS, a healthy baby boy was delivered. This was patient’s second delivery – the first one was also LSCS.

About seven hours thereafter, the patient developed complications. There were generalised tonic-clonic convulsions, up-rolling of eyes and frothing from mouth. The doctor and support staff tried to bring the complications under control but could not succeed. The patient had to be shifted to another hospital where she unfortunately died.

Can a doctor be held negligent for the failure or post-operative complications of a new procedure? No; if he / she has explained the details of such procedure, and an appropriate consent has been taken after explaining every risk and benefit.

The patient was admitted to the hospital with complains of nagging intestinal pain and dribbling & burning of urine. He was a chronic alcoholic, suffered from gastritis and was diagnosed with gall stones.

The patient, a fifty-four-year-old obese lady with a history of high BP was diagnosed with stones in left kidney. The anaesthetist cleared her for anaesthesia and surgery despite the fact that her blood pressure on the day was high, and her other vitals were also not in acceptable range.

What’s more shocking is that the patient was operated in a nursing home lacking in critical care infrastructure. Although a high-risk consent was taken from patient’s family.

A senior citizen underwent ‘executive health check-up’ at a reputed private hospital. The test reported TMT Negative. Content with findings of the report, the old man left the city to visit his native place where he suffered a heart attack.

The patient, a thirty-one-year-old young man, was admitted to the hospital with complains of fever nausea and vomiting. The doctor prescribed medicines for three days, but to no avail.

Three or four days later some tests were prescribed, including H1N1 test as swine flu was declared a global pandemic back then – this case is from the year 2009.