Who gets to go to theatre for urgent surgery first?

Matthew Donmall Middleton v Frimley Health NHS Foundation Trust [2022] EWHC 2981 (KB) Deputy High Court Judge Jonathan Glasson KC heard this case concerning the timing of revascularisation surgery at Frimley Park Hospital, and whether it was mandatory for the Claimant to be operated on within 6 hours of the…

Cancer and Contributory Negligence: Who is the Objectively Reasonable Patient?

Otu v Vivek Datta [2022] EWHC 2388 (KB) When will a patient be partly at fault for not following up when their doctor negligently fails to arrange an appointment? That was the question asked of the High Court in Otu v Datta, a case concerning the death of the Claimant’s…

Legal Immunity in the Covid-19 Pandemic?

It was reported over the weekend of 18-19 April 2020 that the Medical Defence Union (“MDU”), which provides legal support to around 200,000 doctors, was calling for a debate on the need for emergency legislation to protect doctors from negligence claims arising from the COVID-19 emergency.  The particular concerns raised…

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,…