17. 18. 19. When the error of judgement in diagnosis is negligence? Usually error of judgement is not considered as an act of negligence. An error of judgment constitutes negligence only if a reasonably competent professional with the standard skills that the defendant professes to have, and acting with ordinary care, would not have made the same error. What is the difference between negligence, rashness and recklessness? The Supreme Court distinguished between negligence, rashness and recklessness. A negligent person is one who inadvertently commits an act of omission and violates a positive duty. A person who is rash knows the consequences but foolishly thinks that they will not occur as a result of her/his act. A reckless person knows the consequences but does not care whether or not they result from her/his act. Any conduct falling short of recklessness and deliberate wrongdoing should not be the subject of criminal liability. Thus a doctor cannot be held criminally responsible for a patient's death unless it is shown that she/he was negligent or incompetent, with such disregard for the life and safety of his patient that it amounted to a crime against the State.A simple lack of care, an error of judgment or an accident, even fatal, will not constitute culpable medical negligence. If the doctor had followed a practice acceptable to the medical profession at the relevant time, he or she cannot be held liable for negligence merely because a better alternative course or method of treatment was also available, or simply because a more skilled doctor would not have chosen to follow or resort to that practice. What are the factors which can contribute to cause death in prison? 1. Inadequate conditions of detention 2. Insuf icient access to health care 3. Insuf icient contact with the family 4. Inadequate safeguards against suicide 5. Arbitrary deprivation of life, torture and other forms of ill-treatment. UNDERSTANDING THE HEALTH CARE IN CUSTODY | 14