An Examination of the Civil Liabilities of Doctors for Negligence in Invasive and Non-Invasive Procedures

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ABSTRACT

An Examination of the Civil Liabilities of Doctors for Negligence in Invasive and Non-Invasive Procedures

Ogaga Ediru*

The prerogatives and responsibilities of doctors hang on a delicate balance to the extent that doctors are seen as persons who save lives. Medical complications and in severe cases deaths have resulted due to medical errors of doctors while treating patients. Some of these errors are occasioned by the ineptitude or negligence of doctors while performing their professional duties. Doctors as humans are also tainted with imperfection and cannot be let alone to determine how to perform their duties, hence, the law has to step in by providing a range of liabilities attaching to erring doctors, particularly doctors civil liabilities for negligence in invasive and non-invasive procedures, which this work examines. The work adopted the doctrinal method of research which involved the use of primary and secondary sources of law. This work finds that the position of the law in Nigeria as it relates to the liability of doctors for negligence in invasive procedures where a part of a surgical instrument, like a needle, is left in the body of a patient after surgery is that no doctor breaks a needle negligently, and that needles get broken accidentally. The work proposes that the courts should at the earliest opportunity review their decision on medical negligence relating to cases where surgical instruments are retained in the bodies of patients. It further recommends that doctors in order to escape liability for negligence in non-invasive treatments should juxtapose diagnostic results from the laboratory with manifested clinical signs of patients before commencing treatment, and explore the option of additional exploratory tests where results conflict with clinical signs.

Keywords: Invasive Treatment, Non-Invasive Procedures, Doctors, Negligence.

INTRODUCTION
Medical negligence has the ultimate outcome of occasioning debilitating injuries and in severe cases death of patients. This is more so in developing countries such as Nigeria where advancement in medical practice is stagnant or at best developing at a slow pace. The existing range of civil liabilities of doctors in Nigeria is essentially but not solely premised on negligence in invasive and non-invasive procedures. Negligence in invasive procedures may arise during surgical operations or during minimally invasive diagnostic or therapeutic procedures. On the other hand, negligence in non-invasive procedures may arise from errors in diagnosis and treatment. This paper sets out to examine the civil liabilities of medical doctors in the Nigerian healthcare system as it relates to negligence in invasive and non-invasive medical procedures and provide recommendations were appropriate to curb the scourge of medical malpractice in the country.

* * LLB (Hons.), BL, LLM (In View). Legal Practitioner, Adjuya Chambers, No 23, Doma Road, Lafia, Nasarawa State. Tel: 07066006974, E-mail: og********@gm***.com.

THE GRAVITAS REVIEW OF BUSINESS & PROPERTY LAW VOL.11 NO.1