Broder scope of COPRA, 1986 & medical profession.

Negligence is the breach of a duty caused by the omission to do something which a reasonable man, guided by those considerations which ordinarily regulate the conduct of human affairs would do, or doing something which a prudent and reasonable man would not do. The definition involves three constituents of negligence: (1) A legal duty to exercise due care on the part of the party complained of towards the party complaining the former's conduct within the scope of the duty; (2) breach of the said duty; and (3) consequential damage. Cause of action for negligence arises only when damage occurs; for, damage is a necessary ingredient of this tort. Hon’ble Supreme Court Bench comprising B.N. Agrawal, P.P. Naolekar & Dalveer Bhandari, pronounced a Judgment on May 8, 2007 on this issue. Other relevant decisions of various Consumer Forums including National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission are discussed. This paper will help in enlightening medical fraternity on new dimensions of scope of COPRA 1986, meaning and interpretations of term ‘service’ ‘consumer’ and ‘jurisdiction’.