On 10 October 2018, the important Supreme Court judgment in Darnley (Appellant) v Croydon Health Services NHS Trust (Respondent) [2018] UKSC 50 laid to rest any suggestion that non-medical hospital staff do not owe a duty of care to patients. On the facts, the Appellant was wrongly advised by an A&E receptionist that he would have to […]
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The issue of illegality as a defence in clinical negligence actions is controversial. It typically arises in a rare category of cases in which alleged failures of medical care results in a patient (the Claimant) suffering a psychotic episode. As a result of the psychotic episode, the Claimant then commits a criminal act. This leads […]
There is no doubt that it is harder for a claimant to win a nervous shock claim now than 3 years ago. The bar for what is a ‘shocking event’ is higher following decisions in favour of defendants in Ronayne and Shorter. Defendants have been encouraged by success to fight more cases to trial. What […]
Neil Davy recently appeared in a ‘wrongful birth’ case in which the High Court awarded damages to a Claimant for the costs associated with a disability which was unrelated to the Defendant’s admitted negligence. In this respect, MNX v Khan [2017] EWHC 2990 (QB) was said to be the first case of its kind, although […]
Read More… from Wrongful birth: claiming the costs of unrelated disabilities
The importance of Various Claimants v Barclays Bank [2017] 1. A good claim becomes a bad one if there is no one against whom to enforce a judgment. 2. A doctor might be uninsured where: a. He has engaged in criminal activity and his MDO have declined cover; b. You are suing him for something […]