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What is the Bolam test in medical negligence?

What is the Bolam test in medical negligence?

17-Aug-2025

Medical Negligence

Answer By law4u team

The Bolam test is a legal principle used to determine whether a medical professional has been negligent. It comes from an English case (Bolam v Friern Hospital Management Committee, 1957) and is also applied in India. Meaning: A doctor is not negligent if their actions are in accordance with a practice accepted as proper by a responsible body of medical professionals skilled in that particular field — even if another body of opinion would take a different view. In India: Courts have applied the Bolam test in deciding medical negligence cases, but they also require that the standard of care be reasonable, not outdated. Under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 (BNS), causing death by negligence (including medical negligence) is punishable with imprisonment up to 2 years or fine, or both, depending on the circumstances. The test helps decide if the act was a reasonable professional decision or a breach of duty leading to criminal liability.

Answer By Anik

Dear Client, In medical negligence law the Bolam Test is a basic principle which sets the care standard a professional in the medical field is expected to meet. It is named after the 1957 English case of Bolam v. Friern Hospital Management Committee. What is the Bolam Test? In other words the Bolam Test which is that a doctor is not to be found negligent is he followed what a responsible group of medical professionals in that speciality do. In which case a doctor is held to have been negligent if it is proven that no reasonable group of medical professionals would have supported the doctor’s actions. The test in fact leaves to the medical community the task of setting it’s own standard of care. Key Elements of the Bolam Test The foundation of the test is in these two key principles:. Standard of Care: The bar we set is not that of the man on the street but that of the skilled professional which is what we put out there. Thus we judge a specialist surgeon by the performance of a competent surgeon and not that of a general practitioner. Responsible Body of Opinion: In that which pertains to a doctor’s action being supported by a group of his peers which are known to be “responsible” and “proper” the doctor in question cannot be found negligent even if other groups of doctors may have acted differently. The court also puts forth that in medicine there are many schools of thought which are equal in acceptability. The Application in India Indian courts have for long used the Bolam Test as the main criterion in medical negligence cases. In a series of landmark judgments the Supreme Court of India has applied this test to pass on decisions regarding doctors’ actions. However over the years the test has been improved upon especially after the English courts in the case of Bolitho v. City and Hackney Health Authority (1997) put forth a more strict version of it. The Bolitho variation and it’s relevance in India. In the Bolitho case what was put forth is that although the court must respect a responsible body of medical opinion it is not to do so blindly. The court must determine that the which professional opinion has a base in logic and also that the professional body in question did in fact weigh the risks and benefits of the different treatment options. In that which is of the Supreme Court of India’s docket we see this play out in landmark cases like Jacob Mathew v. State of Punjab (2005) which the court decided it is to that effect that the bar for medical negligence is very high. It is not enough to prove that there was an error of judgment what we are talking of is a “gross” or “culpable” act of negligence. In that which we present a doctor in India is protected from a negligence claim as a matter of fact if they put forth that their actions were in fact what a responsible body of medical professionals at the time would have done. It is true that this protection is not full proof and the courts still have the right to question the medical opinion brought forth to see that it is in fact logical and reasonable. I hope this response helps you resolve your issues, should you still have any at all don’t hesitate to reach out. Thank you!

Answer By Ayantika Mondal

Dear Client, The Bolam Test is a legal norm which is traditional in deciding whether a medical worker has been negligent. It derived out of the English, case of Bolam v. It was accepted by the Supreme Court of India in various major rulings, Friern Hospital Management Committee (1957). The test is defined as: This is what is known as negligence and a doctor cannot be found guilty of negligence provided that he has acted in a manner, which has been recognized by a good body of medical men, trained in the particular art, and which is generally accepted to be good conduct. Significant Implications of the Bolam Test: Peer Standard The standard of care is established by the medical profession, and not the court. Reasonable Body: The doctor is defended in a case where the decision taken is backed up by a responsible body of medical opinion even in the face of a different body of opinion. They do not act negligently merely by adopting one practice among the well-known ones in lieu of another. Error of Judgment: The test recognizes that a mere mistake of judgment or even just an inability to achieve a successful treatment is not enough evidence of negligence. Status in India: Although Bolam test has been the yardstick in India (especially upheld in Jacob Mathew v. The Indian judiciary and especially the Supreme Court has been trending towards a more stringent test, usually including the principles of the later English Bolitho Test. This more recent method implies that a court may reverse a medical opinion when it considers that opinion illogical or incapable of being subject to rational examination that is, the medical profession cannot be the judge of its own standards. I hope this answer helps; if you have any further questions please don't hesitate to contact us. Thank you.