ABSTRACT

We are now well into the 21st century, and the practice of medicine is almost unrecognizable from what it was a generation ago. New drugs, new surgical techniques and new genetic technologies that aid in the diagnosis and treatment of disease are the order of the day. However, this evolving practice of medicine has been matched by a rapidly growing awareness of patient’s rights and the responsibilities of the current generation of medical practitioners towards their patients. As a result of this, the medico legal environment in the Caribbean is becoming increasingly litigious as patients are becoming more concerned about and more educated to, their rights. This is in large part due to increasing familiarity and exposure to the Internet, as well as American cable television. Cases of medical malpractice are becoming more common in Trinidad, Jamaica and Barbados, and it is against this backdrop that the doctrine of vicarious liability in the Caribbean requires urgent reexamination.