Duty of care Archives - The QMLR Archive

Cauda Equina Syndrome

Jarman v Brighton and Sussex University Hospitals NHS Trust [2021] EWHC 323 In Hewes v West Hertfordshire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust & Ors [2020] EWCA Civ 1523 (see Issue 8), the Court of Appeal considered, for the first time, a case of alleged delay in the treatment of Cauda Equina…

By Shaheen Rahman KC January 19, 2022Clinical negligence, Issue 10cauda equina, Duty of care

Abuse/Child Abuse

High Court Rejects ‘Failure to Remove’ Abuse Claim

DFX v Coventry City Council [2021] EWHC 1382 (QB) In a significant adverse judgment for child abuse claimants, Mrs Justice Lambert rejected a claim brought by a number of Claimants who alleged that the Defendant council’s social services negligently delayed in instigating care proceedings and that, had they been removed…

By Dominic Ruck Keene July 9, 2021Abuse/Child AbuseAssumption of responsibility, Duty of care, Public authorities

Clinical negligence Issue 8

Non Delegable Duties

Hopkins v (1) Akramy (2) Badger Group (3) NHS Commissioning Board [2020] EWHC 3445 (QB) A preliminary issue was determined by HHJ Melissa Clarke on the issue of whether the NHS owed a non-delegable duty of care to a patient when care was outsourced to a private provider. The Claimant…

By Shaheen Rahman KC April 15, 2021Clinical negligence, Issue 8Duty of care, non-delegable duty

Clinical negligence Issue 5

The Standard of Care in Pure Diagnosis Cases

Brady v Southend University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust [2020] EWHC 158 (QB) This article originally appeared in Issue 5 (May 2020). In the bulk of actions for clinical negligence, the standard of care owed to the patient is one point which attracts relatively little judicial consternation. In Brady, and cases…

By Thomas Beamont May 1, 2020Clinical negligence, Issue 5Duty of care, Standard of care

Clinical negligence Issue 5

Duty to Tell a Child About Risk of Genetic Condition?

ABC v St George's Healthcare NHS Trust & Ors [2020] EWHC 455 (QB) This article originally appeared in Issue 5 (May 2020). This fascinating judgment of Yip J considers whether the Defendants had a duty of care to alert the Claimant (“ABC”) to the risk that she had inherited the…

By Rajkiran Barhey May 1, 2020Clinical negligence, Issue 5Breach of duty, Duty of care

Personal injury Special Issue

PPE Provision

One of the totemic issues that has emerged over recent weeks as part of the COVID-19 pandemic is the provision of ‘appropriate’ and ‘sufficient’ Personal Protective Equipment (“PPE”), above all to those providing hands-on care to patients in hospital and to residents in care homes. Leaving aside criminal liability for…

By Dominic Ruck Keene April 1, 2020Personal injury, Special IssueBreach of duty, Coronavirus, Duty of care, employer's liability

Clinical negligence Issue 3

Assessing the Standard of Care – Past or Present?

Jones v Taunton and Somerset NHS Foundation Trust [2019] EWHC 1408 (QB) This article originally appeared in Issue 3 (November 2019). It is trite law that if a doctor acts in accordance with a responsible body of medical opinion at the time of the treatment, their actions are not negligent,…

By Rajkiran Barhey November 1, 2019Clinical negligence, Issue 3Breach of duty, Duty of care, Standard of care

Clinical negligence Issue 3

Assessing the Standard of Care – Junior Doctors

George Andrews v Greater Glasgow Health Board [2019] CSOH 31 This article originally appeared in Issue 3 (November 2019). Background This Scottish case arose from the death of Ms Jean Graham and was brought by her partner of 20 years, Mr George Andrews. Ms Graham had attended hospital on 6…

By Rajkiran Barhey November 1, 2019Clinical negligence, Issue 3Duty of care, Standard of care

Abuse/Child Abuse Issue 2

The Supreme Court Rules on the Liability of Public Authorities

Poole Borough Council v GN (through his litigation friend ‘The Official Solicitor’) and another [2019] UKSC 25 The article originally appeared in Issue 2 (July 2019). In this judgment, handed down by Lord Reed in June 2019, the Supreme Court found that Poole Borough Council did not owe a duty…

By Rajkiran Barhey July 1, 2019Abuse/Child Abuse, Issue 2Assumption of responsibility, Duty of care, Public authorities

Clinical negligence Issue 2

Scope of Duty

This article originally appeared in Issue 2 (July 2019). One of the recurring themes in negligence case-law over the past 12 months has been the extent to which some or all aspects of a claimant’s claimed damage should be determined to lie within the scope of a defendant’s duty of…

By Dominic Ruck Keene July 1, 2019Clinical negligence, Issue 2Duty of care, Scope of duty