ISLAMABAD: A medical tribunal in the capital has held that doctors cannot be found professionally negligent merely because a patient experiences an adverse outcome.

The tribunal ruled that allegations of negligence must be established through credible expert evidence demonstrating a departure from the accepted standard of medical practice rather than through retrospective assessment informed by hindsight.

Deciding three connected appeals arising from disciplinary proceedings before the Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (PMDC), the tribunal held that disciplinary liability must rest upon objective and reliable medical evidence showing that the treating physician acted in a manner that no reasonably competent practitioner, exercising ordinary professional skill, would have adopted in similar circumstances.

The Bolam and Bolitho principles, developed by English courts and widely applied across common-law jurisdictions, require that allegations of medical negligence be assessed against responsible professional practice and that expert opinion relied upon by courts or disciplinary bodies be capable of withstanding logical scrutiny.

The judgements are authored by retired judge Safdar Saleem Shahid.

The tribunal emphasised that complications, disability, or an unsuccessful surgical procedure did not, by themselves, establish professional negligence.

The tribunal emphasised that expert medical opinion could not be accepted uncritically, merely because it was offered by specialists. Rather, disciplinary authorities must examine whether such opinion was logical, reasoned, supported by contemporaneous medical records and capable of withstanding objective judicial scrutiny.

It emphasised that disciplinary committees performed quasi-judicial functions and must independently evaluate the entire evidentiary record.

It also drew a clear distinction between professional negligence and professional misconduct, holding that failures relating to informed consent, maintenance of medical records, or compliance with ethical and regulatory obligations may constitute professional misconduct warranting disciplinary sanctions, even where the evidence falls short of proving negligent medical treatment.

Published in Dawn, July 13th, 2026