Issues in Litigating Informed Consent Claims

Johnstone v NHS Grampian [2019] CSOH 90  This article originally appeared in Issue 4 (March 2020). The Outer House of the Court of Session found that the Pursuer/Claimant (“J”) had given informed consent to the transsphenoidal surgery he underwent and dismissed J’s claim for damages brought against the health authority. …

Evidence From Behind Screens in Inquests

R (on the application of Dyer) v Assistant Coroner for West Yorkshire (Western) [2019] EWHC 2897 (Admin)  This article originally appeared in Issue 4 (March 2020). Mr Hall, a black man, died shortly after being in police custody and being restrained. The police officers called to give evidence at the…

Damned Lies: Risk, Statistical Association and Causation

Clements v Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust [2018] EWHC 2064 AB v East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust [2019] EWHC 3542 (QB)  This article originally appeared in Issue 4 (March 2020). We are all familiar with the challenge of proving that a given breach of duty was causally relevant to injury…

When Medical Technology Goes Wrong

Hastings v Finsbury Orthopaedics Ltd and Stryker UK Ltd [2019] CSOH 96  This article originally appeared in Issue 4 (March 2020). Modern medicine increasingly makes use of sophisticated technology, from algorithms for assisting in diagnosis to robots for surgical procedures. But what happens when the technology goes wrong; who is…