-
Medical emergencies, mishaps, and accidents:
- In your professional career, there will always be emergencies where you are in a dilemma on the course to be followed that would be legally correct.
- The following list of medical mishaps and accidents is only illustrative and not exhaustive as there may be many other situations which similarly, call for, proper and timely, legal advice:
- Accident victim
- Accidents
- Arrest by police
- Autopsy & post-mortem.
- Complications during intervention / treatment.
- Death on table.
- Death or other physical injury during treatment or intervention.
- Emergency admissions.
- Emergency care.
- Equipment failure – seizure by police.
- Injury cases.
- Mishaps
- Poisoning cases.
- Police statement.
- Violence
- Violent reaction / restlessness by the patient or the patients’ relatives.
-
Making a call from within a police station or when policemen are within
earshot distance:
- Inform the policemen accompanying you that you are speaking to your Advocate and request them to leave you alone. In case of Police Station, either request for another room or simply come out in the open.
- Before starting conversation, inform the said fact to the expert.
- Your right to get proper legal aid, which includes right to consult an advocate of your choice without any interference from the police is guaranteed by the Indian Constitution.
- In case your repeated requests to speak with your advocate in seclusion is turned down, connect the call and request the policeman to speak with expert.
- It is important to note that the tone and tenor of your request must be extra courteous and polite; and never harsh, demanding, or unpleasant as the police may draw adverse inference from your conduct. It is equally important to note that the policemen have practically unfettered right of investigation and your discourteous conduct may prejudice them against you.
-
Making call when the patient or the patients relative is within earshot
distance:
- Never inform the patient or the patients relative accompanying you that you are speaking with a MedLegal expert nor request them to leave you alone. Excuse yourself from their company on some pretext.
- Before starting the conversation, inform the expert that the patient or the patients relative is nearby or may come within audible distance anytime during conversation.
- Do not speak in a hushed-up tone.
- Try to make your conversation brief.
- You have a right to consult an advocate of your choice. But the mere fact that you are consulting a MedLegal expert may sow the seed of suspicion in the patient’s mind. Try to avoid this impression.
-
General precautions:
- Do not panic.
- Listen to the advice carefully.
- Discuss all the likely scenarios that may arise and take legal advice on each one of them specifically.
- At each and every turn of events, if you have any doubts, call the Helpline for proper advice.
- Please bear in mind that you are entitled to call as many times as you feel that you need legal advice, even if this means calling at every alternate minute.