LAXMAN BALKRISHNA JOSHI vs TRIMBAK BAPU GODBOLE AND ANR.

The Supreme Court held that a medical practitioner owes a duty of care to a patient, which includes deciding whether to undertake the case, what treatment to provide, and administering that treatment with reasonable skill and care. In this case, the appellant surgeon was found negligent for improperly reducing a fracture without adequate anesthesia, leading to the patient's death from fat embolism. The Court upheld the lower courts' findings of negligence and awarded damages of Rs. 3,000 to the plaintiff.