Consent, Professional Negligence and Medical Ethics (Consumer Protection, Vicarious Liability) MCQs

Forensic Medicine · 24 free questions with answers & explanations.

1. A private hospital employs a specialist surgeon as a permanent salaried employee. The surgeon negligently performs a wrong-site surgery. Under the principle of vicarious liability, which of the following is CORRECT?
2. A patient signed a consent form for laparoscopic cholecystectomy but develops bile duct injury, a recognised complication with an incidence of approximately 0.3%. The patient claims negligence. Which legal test is MOST applicable to determine whether the doctor is negligent?
3. Under the Consumer Protection Act 2019 (India), a medical negligence claim against a private hospital is filed before the District Consumer Commission. What is the upper limit of 'consideration paid' (value of service) for filing in the District Commission?
4. A 14-year-old patient requires an emergency appendicectomy, but parents are unavailable and uncontactable. Which of the following provides the correct legal/ethical framework for proceeding?
5. The principle of 'therapeutic privilege' in informed consent allows a doctor to withhold specific risk information from a patient in which limited circumstance?
6. In the landmark Indian Supreme Court judgment Bolam vs Friern Hospital Management Committee (Bolam test as adopted in Indian law), a doctor is NOT negligent if:
7. Under the Consumer Protection Act (COPRA) 2019, medical services provided by a private hospital for a fee are included in the definition of 'service', making the hospital/doctor liable for 'deficiency in service'. Which of the following is currently EXCLUDED from this definition?
8. Vicarious liability in medical practice means a hospital is liable for negligence by:
9. Informed consent for a surgical procedure is legally valid when ALL of the following are present EXCEPT:
10. Under the Bhartiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) 2023 (replacing CrPC), an arrested person has the right to have his medical examination conducted under Section 51. If injuries are found during this examination, they must be documented in the:
11. A surgeon performs laparoscopic cholecystectomy and inadvertently clips the common bile duct. The patient develops obstructive jaundice requiring re-operation. Assuming the surgeon followed a standard technique and the clip placement was within the range of acceptable surgical variance, this outcome is MOST accurately classified as:
12. A private hospital employee (nurse) makes an error in drug administration causing patient death. Under the Consumer Protection Act 2019, who bears the primary liability for the deficiency in service?
13. For a valid informed consent to a medical procedure, which of the following elements is NOT legally required under Indian law?
14. A 16-year-old girl presents alone requesting termination of pregnancy. She is competent to understand the procedure and its risks. Under the Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act (as amended 2021) and Indian legal framework for consent in minors, the CORRECT approach is:
15. The doctrine of res ipsa loquitur ('the thing speaks for itself') in medical negligence is applicable when:
16. A surgeon performs a hysterectomy on a woman who had provided written informed consent for myomectomy only. The uterus was found to be infected intraoperatively, which the surgeon judged to warrant hysterectomy. In Indian law, this situation most accurately represents:
17. Under the principle of 'res ipsa loquitur' (the thing speaks for itself) in medical negligence, what must be established by the plaintiff, and in which landmark Indian case was it applied?
18. Vicarious liability in a hospital context under Indian law means that a private hospital is liable for the negligence of its doctors if:
19. Under the Bolam test (standard of care in medical negligence), a doctor is not negligent if:
20. A surgeon performs an elective cholecystectomy. During the operation, he decides to simultaneously perform an oophorectomy on finding a small ovarian cyst, without prior consent for this procedure. The patient has no post-operative complications but later sues. The surgeon is liable for which type of wrong?
21. In the landmark Indian negligence case Jacob Mathew v State of Punjab (2005), the Supreme Court laid down important principles. Which statement BEST represents the Court's standard for criminal negligence in medical practice?
22. A patient is injured due to negligence of a junior resident working at a corporate hospital. Under which legal doctrine can the hospital (employer) be held liable for the negligent act of its employed doctor?
23. Under the Consumer Protection Act 2019 (India), which category of doctor-patient relationship is EXCLUDED from the definition of 'consumer' and therefore cannot file a complaint under this Act?
24. Doctrine of informed consent requires disclosure of material risks. The modern legal standard applied in India (as per Samira Kohli v Dr. Prabha Manchanda, 2008) for determining what risks must be disclosed is: