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Physician's Liability

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Physician's Liability (Arabic: ضمان الطبیب, ḍamān al-ṭabīb) refers to the legal responsibility of a physician toward a patient during the process of medical treatment. This issue is discussed in Medical Jurisprudence and law. Muslim jurists agree that if a person claims to be a physician and engages in treatment without having medical knowledge, he is liable (ḍāmin) if the treatment results in death or injury.

According to Shi'a jurists, if a physician is negligent during treatment and practice and does not have permission from the patient or his guardian, he is liable, even if he is skilled.

However, there is a disagreement among jurists regarding the liability of a physician who possesses the necessary skills for treatment, exerts all efforts and caution, has permission from the patient or his guardian, and commits no negligence, yet the treatment leads to death or defect of a limb.

The well-known opinion among Shi'a jurists is that the physician is liable. Some, such as Ibn Idris al-Hilli, hold the view that the physician is not liable in this case.

Concept and Status

Physician's liability encompasses all financial obligations and compensations that become incumbent upon the physician, whether intentionally or unintentionally.[1] The term "liability" (ḍamān) is a widely used term in jurisprudence and law, defined as the responsibility for something, which entails compensation (tadāruk) in the event of damage or loss.[2] In law, this term is sometimes used synonymously with "responsibility".[3]

Narrations regarding physician's liability have been transmitted from the Imams (a).[4] Al-Hurr al-'Amili has dedicated a chapter in Wasa'il al-Shi'a to "The Liability of the Physician and Veterinarian" (Ḍamān al-Ṭabīb wa l-Bayṭār), collecting several narrations under it.[5] Thus, this issue has been discussed by Shi'a jurists from early times under the issue of liability or the Rule of Liability.[6] Furthermore, physician's liability is discussed as an independent issue in Medical Jurisprudence under New Jurisprudential Issues.[7]

Types of Liability

In Islamic jurisprudence, liability is classified into the following types:

  • Contractual Liability (Ḍamān al-ʿAqdī): A contract by which a person undertakes a financial obligation that is upon another person.[8] Contractual liability is formed through Offer and Acceptance, accompanied by knowledge, intention, and the free will and consent of the guarantor and the other parties.[9] This type of liability is typically discussed in a separate chapter in jurisprudence.[10]
  • Coercive Liability (Ḍamān al-Qahrī): The responsibility to perform an act or compensate for a loss that occurs without any contract, established automatically (coercively) between individuals.[11] This type of liability is involuntary; the guarantor does not intend to obligate himself, but the law imposes this responsibility upon him.[12] It is said that the issue of physician's liability is mostly discussed under this category.[13]

Significance

According to a narration from Imam al-Sadiq (a), the people of every land are in need of three things for their worldly and otherworldly affairs, without which they would live a miserable life; one of these is "a knowledgeable and trustworthy physician."[14]

However, mistakes sometimes occur in treatment and medical practice, which may result in the patient's death, loss of a faculty, or physical and financial damages.[15] Therefore, jurists, relying on religious evidence, and legislators have deduced rulings and criteria to preserve patients' rights and compensate for damages resulting from medical negligence or error, thereby defining the civil and criminal liability of physicians.[16]

Types of Physician's Liability

Regarding the physician's responsibility, several scenarios are conceivable: the physician is either knowledgeable or ignorant of medical matters; either negligent or non-negligent; and either authorized or unauthorized.[17] The presence or absence of each of these states affects the physician's liability.[18]

Liability of an Ignorant Physician

Muslim jurists agree that if someone introduces himself as a physician and engages in treatment without knowledge of medical matters, he is liable if he causes death or injury.[19] They cite a narration from Prophet Muhammad (s) stating that anyone who practices medicine without prior learning is liable.[20]

Some also cite a narration from Imam Ali (a), stating that it is incumbent upon the ruler to imprison ignorant physicians.[21]

Liability of a Negligent Physician

According to Shi'a jurists, if a physician is negligent during treatment and practice and does not have permission from the patient or his guardian, he is liable, even if he is skilled.[22] Consensus (ijma'), the Rule of Liability (Qāʿidat al-Ḍamān), and the principle of the inviolability of a Muslim's blood (ʿadam buṭlān dam al-Muslim) are cited as evidence for this ruling.[23]

Liability of an Authorized Physician

There is a disagreement among jurists regarding the liability of a physician who possesses the necessary skills for treatment, exerts all efforts and caution, has permission from the patient or his guardian, and commits no negligence, yet the treatment leads to death or defect of a limb.[24]

The famous opinion among Shi'a jurists is that the physician is liable even in these conditions.[25] The following arguments are cited for this view:

  • Rule of Destruction (Itlāf): Since the death or defect is attributed to the physician's action, he is liable.[26]
  • Rule of No Harm (Lā Ḍarar): Damages caused by the physician during treatment are conventionally considered instances of harm; thus, based on the Rule of No Harm, the physician is liable.[27]
  • Inviolability of Muslim Blood: Since the death or defect is attributed to the physician's act, and based on the rule that a Muslim's blood cannot be shed in vain, the physician is liable.[28]
  • Narration of Sakuni: A narration from Imam al-Sadiq (a) stating that Imam Ali (a) held a circumciser liable for cutting the prepuce more than necessary.[29]
  • Consensus.[30] Some, like al-Shahid al-Thani, consider the narration of Sakuni weak and prioritize the consensus.[31]

Non-Liability of an Authorized Physician

Some jurists, such as Ibn Idris al-Hilli and al-Muqaddas al-Ardabili, hold that if the physician is skilled, has permission from the patient or his guardian, and is not negligent in treatment, he is not liable.[32] They rely on the following arguments:

  • Principle of Exemption (Aṣl al-Barāʾa): Where the physician has the necessary skills and applies them, in case of doubt regarding liability for death or defect, the principle is the exemption of his liability (dhimma).[33]
  • Since the skilled physician is authorized by the patient or his guardian for the treatment process, he is not liable for death or defect.[34]
  • Narrations indicating that a physician skilled in medical matters is not liable for death or injury occurring during treatment.[35]
  • Rule of Benevolence (Iḥsān): This rule is considered to negate liability.[36] According to this rule, since the physician acts out of benevolence to remove harm from the patient, he is not liable for death or damages.[37]

Notes

  1. ↑ Fāḍil Lankaranī, Aḥkām-i pizishkān wa bīmārān, 1427 AH, p. 187.
  2. ↑ Nāʾīnī, Munyat al-ṭālib, 1373 AH, vol. 1, p. 118; Khudābakhshī, "Bāzshināsī-yi mafhūmī-yi ḍamān wa aqsām-i ān dar fiqh-i Islāmī", pp. 18-19.
  3. ↑ Khudābakhshī, "Bāzshināsī-yi mafhūmī-yi ḍamān wa aqsām-i ān dar fiqh-i Islāmī", pp. 10, 21.
  4. ↑ Ḥurr al-ʿĀmilī, Wasāʾil al-Shīʿa, vol. 29, p. 260.
  5. ↑ Ḥurr al-ʿĀmilī, Wasāʾil al-Shīʿa, vol. 29, p. 260.
  6. ↑ See for example: Najafī, Jawāhir al-kalām, 1362 Sh, vol. 43, p. 44.
  7. ↑ See for example: Qāsimī, Dānishnāma-yi fiqh-i pizishkī, 1395 Sh, vol. 1, p. 80.
  8. ↑ Shahīd al-Thānī, Al-Rawḍa al-bahiyya, 1410 AH, vol. 4, p. 113; ʿAmīd Zanjānī, Mūjibāt-i ḍamān, 1382 Sh, p. 199.
  9. ↑ ʿAmīd Zanjānī, Mūjibāt-i ḍamān, 1382 Sh, p. 195.
  10. ↑ Shahīd al-Thānī, Al-Rawḍa al-bahiyya, 1410 AH, vol. 4, p. 113; Hāshimī Shāhrūdī, Farhang-i fiqh, 1387 Sh, vol. 5, p. 152.
  11. ↑ Qāsimī, Dānishnāma-yi fiqh-i pizishkī, 1395 Sh, vol. 1, pp. 80-81.
  12. ↑ Qāsimī, Dānishnāma-yi fiqh-i pizishkī, 1395 Sh, vol. 1, pp. 80-81.
  13. ↑ Qāsimī, Dānishnāma-yi fiqh-i pizishkī, 1395 Sh, vol. 1, p. 80.
  14. ↑ Majlisī, Biḥār al-anwār, vol. 75, p. 235.
  15. ↑ Mūsawī Bujnūrdī, "Masʾūliyyat-i madanī wa kayfarī-yi pizishk bā takiyya bar ārā-yi Imām Khumaynī", p. 29.
  16. ↑ Mūsawī Bujnūrdī, "Masʾūliyyat-i madanī wa kayfarī-yi pizishk bā takiyya bar ārā-yi Imām Khumaynī", p. 30.
  17. ↑ Ḥusayn-Pūr, "Ḍamān-i pizishk az manẓar-i fiqh-i Imāmiyya", p. 101.
  18. ↑ Ḥusayn-Pūr, "Ḍamān-i pizishk az manẓar-i fiqh-i Imāmiyya", p. 101.
  19. ↑ Ḥusayn-Pūr, "Ḍamān-i pizishk az manẓar-i fiqh-i Imāmiyya", pp. 101-102.
  20. ↑ Shawkānī, Nayl al-awṭār, 1414 AH, vol. 6, pp. 35-36.
  21. ↑ Ismāʿīl-Ābādī, "Ngāhī taṭbīqī bi ḍamān-i ṭabīb dar madhāhib-i Islāmī", p. 148; Ḥurr al-ʿĀmilī, Wasāʾil al-Shīʿa, 1416 AH, vol. 27, p. 301.
  22. ↑ Ṭabāṭabāʾī, Riyāḍ al-masāʾil, 1412 AH, vol. 14, pp. 197-198; Najafī, Jawāhir al-kalām, 1362 Sh, vol. 43, pp. 44-45.
  23. ↑ Ṭabāṭabāʾī, Riyāḍ al-masāʾil, 1412 AH, vol. 14, pp. 197-198; Najafī, Jawāhir al-kalām, 1362 Sh, vol. 43, pp. 44-45.
  24. ↑ Najafī, Jawāhir al-kalām, 1362 Sh, vol. 43, p. 45; Ḥusayn-Pūr, "Ḍamān-i pizishk az manẓar-i fiqh-i Imāmiyya", pp. 103-104.
  25. ↑ Shahīd al-Thānī, Masālik al-afhām, 1423 AH, vol. 15, p. 327; Najafī, Jawāhir al-kalām, 1362 Sh, vol. 43, p. 46.
  26. ↑ Muqaddas al-Ardabīlī, Majmaʿ al-fāʾida wa l-burhān, vol. 14, p. 227; Najafī, Jawāhir al-kalām, 1362 Sh, vol. 43, p. 45.
  27. ↑ Mūsawī Bujnūrdī, "Masʾūliyyat-i madanī wa kayfarī-yi pizishk bā takiyya bar ārā-yi Imām Khumaynī", p. 50; Ḥusayn-Pūr, "Ḍamān-i pizishk az manẓar-i fiqh-i Imāmiyya", p. 108.
  28. ↑ Shahīd al-Thānī, Al-Rawḍa al-bahiyya, 1410 AH, vol. 10, p. 108; Muqaddas al-Ardabīlī, Majmaʿ al-fāʾida wa l-burhān, vol. 14, p. 227.
  29. ↑ Shahīd al-Thānī, Masālik al-afhām, 1423 AH, vol. 15, p. 327; Najafī, Jawāhir al-kalām, 1362 Sh, vol. 43, p. 46; Ḥurr al-ʿĀmilī, Wasāʾil al-Shīʿa, 1416 AH, vol. 29, p. 260.
  30. ↑ Shahīd al-Thānī, Masālik al-afhām, 1423 AH, vol. 15, pp. 327-328; Najafī, Jawāhir al-kalām, 1362 Sh, vol. 43, p. 46.
  31. ↑ Shahīd al-Thānī, Al-Rawḍa al-bahiyya, 1410 AH, vol. 10, p. 110.
  32. ↑ Ibn Idrīs, Al-Sarāʾir, 1410 AH, vol. 3, p. 373; Muqaddas al-Ardabīlī, Majmaʿ al-fāʾida wa l-burhān, vol. 14, p. 229.
  33. ↑ Ibn Idrīs, Al-Sarāʾir, 1410 AH, vol. 3, p. 373.
  34. ↑ Ibn Idrīs, Al-Sarāʾir, 1410 AH, vol. 3, p. 373.
  35. ↑ Kulaynī, Al-Kāfī, 1407 AH, vol. 8, pp. 193-194; Ḥusayn-Pūr, "Ḍamān-i pizishk az manẓar-i fiqh-i Imāmiyya", p. 112.
  36. ↑ ʿAlīzāda, "Taʾthīr-i qāʿida-yi iḥsān bar masʾūliyyat-i pizishk", p. 519.
  37. ↑ Ḥusayn-Pūr, "Ḍamān-i pizishk az manẓar-i fiqh-i Imāmiyya", p. 113; ʿAlīzāda, "Taʾthīr-i qāʿida-yi iḥsān bar masʾūliyyat-i pizishk", p. 519.

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