Doctor is not sued now in Consumer Forum???
Medicolegal series no. 6
Recently a news making dilemma that doctor now onwards be sued in consumer forum or not after Union Government approved removal of healthcare from services in proposed CPA Bill On 24th June 2019.
Following will clear doubt among medical fraternity.
- It’s a Technical amendment only.
- Cabinet has removed word Healthcare from definitions of services in proposed CPA Bill. It is to be noted that in present Consumer Protection Act also, the word healthcare is not included in definition of services.
- But after Supreme Court judgment on Indian Medical Association vs V.P. Shantha & Ors on 13 November, 1995, Healthcare services covered under CPA 1986 and elaborated how medical services come under definition of service in CPA as follow:
—: *definition of services in present CPA 1986 read as follow:—-
“Section 2(1) (0):
“service” means service of any description which is made available to the potential users and includes the provision of facilities in connection with banking, financing, insurance, transport, processing, supply of electrical or other energy, board or lodging or both, [housing construction], entertainment, amusement or the purveying of news or other information, but does not include rendering of any service free of charge or under a contract of personal service”
The definition of `service’ in Section 2(1) (0) of the Act can be split up into three parts – the main part, the inclusionary part and the exclusionary part
- Thus the use of the word `any’ in the context it has been used in clause (o) indicates that it has been used in wider sense extending from one to all.
- The inclusive clause succeeded in widening its scope but not exhausting the services which could be covered in earlier part.
- So any service except when it is free of charge or under a constraint of personal service is included in it.
# As Healthcare services are not excluded from definition of service in proposed CPA bill also, doctor and healthcare can be sued in consumer forum too.
Dr. Vinesh Shah, M.D(F.M),PhD(F.M),B.G.L
MedicoLegal Expert
Mumbai/Ahmedabad/Surat
Pixie Forensic and MedicoLegal Consultancy
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Note: opinions expressed in this article are author’s individual interpretation from available documents but not to criticise or favour someone.