Medico-legal norms come to aid doctors

HERALD REPORTER
PANJIM, DEC 24
Goa Medical College and Hospital has drafted a new set of medico-legal guidelines that would help doctors in identifying medico-legal cases thus putting to rest uncertainty faced by them earlier while identifying such cases.   
As per the 20 guidelines, which have been scrutinised by heads of departments, if a person was brought unconscious to the hospital with no history of earlier complications then registration of a legal case became mandatory.
All injury cases, circumstances of which suggest commission of offence by someone, would henceforth be counted as medico-legal cases. All burn injuries due to any cause, suspected or evident poisoning, sexual assaults and criminal abortion have also been brought under the purview of the medico-legal guidelines.
Dead on arrival cases or the ones in which patients die shortly after being brought to the casualty and before a definite diagnosis could be made and any other incident having legal implications could be made into a medico-legal case. 
Unexplained death after surgery or interventional procedure and unexplained ICU death have also been brought under the umbrella of medico-legal cases. Also, those cases where patients are brought dead with no history of complications thus creating suspicion would be closely watched. 
Any case wherein a patient falls down and suffers injury or dies in a hospital has been brought under the framework of the medico-legal guidelines.
Those cases where relatives of a dead patient are seen overreacting emotionally and at times end up hurting or abusing a doctor have been brought under medico-legal cases. 
When an autopsy is contemplated, these guidelines would be followed to decide whether a pathological or medico-legal (forensic) autopsy was needed. Pathological autopsy would be conducted when death has occurred due to unexplained disease or in cases that are rare or are of academic interest.
Dr Wiseman Pinto, who has framed the guidelines, said earlier there were no specific rules to make a medico-legal case and doctors followed whatever was laid down in forensic books.
The changing law and order scenario, rising crime chart and other circumstances indirectly linked to the medical fraternity have brought doctors under tremendous pressure and so the need of the guidelines, he observed.
Dr Pinto said medico-legal expert from Mumbai, Dr Gopinath Shenoy, has appreciated the guidelines framed by them and mentioned he would incorporate a few aspects of the same.