Practitioners section - Validity of consent - A review of statutes

In recent years there have been a number of malpractice suits based on lack of consent or inadequate consent from the patient for the procedure used in treatment. This is a particularly dangerous suit for the doctor since the burden of proof lies on the doctor. Furthermore since the suit is based on intentional assault, some insurance policies do not cover the doctor for his liability. The common meaning of consent is permission, whereas the law perceives it as a contract i.e. an agreement enforceable by law. So a doctor needs to understand the legal basis of consent rather than the common meaning of it. The present article aims to discuss the various legal aspects of consent as viewed in the Indian law.