Medical negligence is one of the most dynamic areas of contemporary Indian tort law because it lies at the intersection of professional standards, patient autonomy, consumer protection, constitutional remedies and criminal responsibility. Medical liability ordinarily arises when a medical practitioner or healthcare institution owes a duty of care to a patient, breaches the applicable standard of care, and that breach causes legally cognisable harm. This paper undertakes a doctrinal, statutory and jurisprudential study of the evolving standards of duty of care, professional skill and tortious liability in India. It traces the historical development of the English Bolam test and its qualification through Bolitho, and examines the manner in which Indian courts have adapted these principles in cases such as Dr. Laxman Balkrishna Joshi, Jacob Mathew, Kusum Sharma, V. Kishan Rao, Nizam’s Institute of Medical Sciences, Samira Kohli, Savita Garg and Balram Prasad. The paper further examines the principal avenues of liability—civil tort, consumer protection, constitutional remedies in appropriate cases, and criminal liability for gross or statutorily punishable negligence. It also analyses informed consent, res ipsa loquitur, vicarious liability of hospitals, telemedicine, artificial intelligence in healthcare and defensive medicine. The paper concludes that Indian medical-negligence law should move towards clearer statutory and clinical standards, specialised adjudication, effective pre-litigation dispute resolution and a predictable compensation framework, while preserving patient autonomy and protecting competent medical practice from unwarranted criminalisation.