The liability of a hospital in cases of medical negligence could be direct or vicarious. Direct liability in this sense would mean a deficiency in the services provided by the hospital thus making it unsafe and not suitable for treatment. Vicarious liability, on the other hand, would refer to the liability of the hospital as an employer for the negligent acts of its employees.

Some of the conditions under which a hospital is directly liable are:

• Improper maintenance of hospital resulting in an injury to or death of the patient.
• Failure in providing a safe and suitable environment as guaranteed–like when the patient is affected by malfunctioning equipment, incompetent staff, inadequate accommodation, etc.
• Deceptive or misleading signboards, advertisements, and notices, false claims of availability of certain facilities which may be seen as a deficiency in services or as unfair trade practices under the Consumer Protection Act and damages can be awarded for such malpractices.