Medicine, Surgery, and Law: A Medico-Legal Analysis of Healthcare Systems, Clinical Practice, and Institutional Accountability in India

Medicine and surgery operate within a complex legal, ethical, and institutional framework that extends beyond clinical decision-making. This article examines the evolution, organization, and regulation of medical practice from a medico-legal perspective, integrating historical foundations, contemporary healthcare systems, surgical sciences, ethics, and criminal liability. Beginning with the history of medicine with special reference to ancient Indian medical texts such as the Charaka Samhita and the Sushruta Samhita, the study highlights early recognition of professional duty, consent, and accountability. The article critically analyzes health economics, health insurance, medical sociology, doctor–patient relationships, and family adjustments in disease, emphasizing their legal relevance in negligence and consumer protection litigation. Technological advancements including electronic medical records, computer-aided learning, robotics, and virtual reality are examined for their evidentiary and regulatory implications. Hospital hazards, biomedical waste management, infection control, and environmental protection are assessed through statutory and criminal law perspectives. Core surgical domains—such as sepsis, nosocomial infections, trauma care, disaster management, organ transplantation, blood transfusion, critical care, and imaging technologies—are discussed with emphasis on standard of care, professional negligence, and institutional liability. Research methodology, clinical trials, bio-medical statistics, and informed consent are evaluated as legal safeguards in clinical research.The article argues that modern healthcare institutions must be understood as legally accountable organizations where failures in systems, training, documentation, or ethics may attract civil, criminal, and regulatory consequences. By integrating medical science with legal analysis, this paper provides a comprehensive framework for understanding healthcare governance in contemporary India.