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VOL. 11, ISSUE 6 (2025)
Law, medicine, and Forensic Science: A comprehensive medico-legal analysis of ethics, liability, Mental Health, reproductive technologies, and medical negligence
Authors
Ganesh Shrirang Nale, Dr. Priyanka Sambhaji Jadhavar
Abstract
The relationship between law and medicine represents one of the most
complex and evolving intersections in modern governance, ethics, and justice
delivery. Medical practice today is no longer confined to therapeutic
objectives alone; it operates within an extensive legal framework that
regulates professional conduct, patient rights, public health, biomedical
innovations, and accountability mechanisms. This article critically examines
the medico-legal interface with special reference to forensic medicine, medical
ethics, and legal liabilities arising from medical practice. It explores the
significance of forensic evidence in the administration of justice, the role of
medical witnesses, and the ethical foundations laid by the Hippocratic Oath and
bioethics. The article analyzes statutory controls under the Indian Medical
Council Act, Drugs and Cosmetics Act, Transplantation of Human Organs Act,
Mental Health Act, Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act, and Consumer
Protection legislation in India and England. Further, the paper discusses
medical insanity and legal insanity, emphasizing the McNaughten Rules as the
watershed between medical diagnosis and criminal responsibility. Medico-legal
concepts of death, asphyxial deaths, and injury classification are examined
alongside post-mortem procedures and inquest mechanisms. The evolving legal
standards of consent, informed consent, confidentiality, and genetic information
disclosure are analyzed in light of constitutional rights and medical
negligence jurisprudence. Assisted reproductive technologies, surrogacy, organ
transplantation, prenatal diagnostic techniques, and abortion laws are
critically evaluated within ethical and legal frameworks. The article concludes
by assessing tortious, contractual, civil, and criminal liabilities of medical
professionals, including product liability for defective medicines, and
emphasizes the need for harmonization between medical advancement and legal
regulation to protect human dignity, patient autonomy, and justice.
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Pages:77-80
How to cite this article:
Ganesh Shrirang Nale, Dr. Priyanka Sambhaji Jadhavar "Law, medicine, and Forensic Science: A comprehensive medico-legal analysis of ethics, liability, Mental Health, reproductive technologies, and medical negligence". International Journal of Medical and Health Research, Vol 11, Issue 6, 2025, Pages 77-80
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