Chapter 7 Web links

Breach of duty: the standard of care

A lot of material online raises issues relating to breach – after all, in any successful claim for negligence the defendant will have breached their duty of care. Many of the cases discussed in this chapter have made the news. In fact, this may well be contributing to the perception of a ‘compensation culture’ (see web links for chapter 1).

Montgomery v Lanarkshire NHS Trust [2015]

Auslan Cramb, ‘Mother whose son suffered brain damage wins £5.25m in landmark court battle’, Telegraph, 11 March 2015
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/health/11464433/Mother-whose-son-suffered-brain-damage-wins-5.25-in-landmark-court-battle.html

Listen to ‘Debrief' - a series of podcasts from Kings Chambers’ clinical negligence and personal injury group. Nigel Poole QC, Helen Mulholland and Richard Borrett discuss judicial decisions on consent to treatment in the aftermath of the landmark Supreme Court decision in Montgomery v Lanarkshire. How has the law on consent to treatment moved on since Montgomery? What risks should a healthcare professional discuss with a patient in order to obtain their informed consent to treatment? What alternatives to any proposed treatment should they raise with the patient? When and in what circumstances should these discussions take place?

https://www.kingschambers.com/resources-and-training/kings-chambers-podcast

Cornish Glennroy Blair-Ford v CRS Adventures Ltd [2012]

Press Association ‘Paralysed teacher loses £5m “welly-wanging” damages claim’

Guardian 13 August 2012
http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2012/aug/13/paralysed-teacher-welly-wanging-claim

Keith Gladdis, ‘Teacher loses £5million claim for compensation after he is paralysed in 'freak' welly-wanging accident on school trip’, The Daily Mail, 13 August 2013
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2187658/Glennroy-Blair-Ford-Teacher-loses-5m-claim-compensation-paralysed-freak-accident.html

Wilkin-Shaw v Fuller & Kingsley School Bideford Enterprises Ltd [2012]

BBC News Online ‘Charlotte Shaw mother loses death claim’, 28 June 2012:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-devon-18632373

Chris Parsons, ‘Scoutmaster who told bedraggled children to cross swollen brook on gruelling outdoor expedition is blamed for death of girl, 14, who was swept away and drowned’ The Daily Mail, 29 June 2012:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2166335/Charlotte-Shaw-trial-Scoutmaster-blamed-death-girl-14-drowned-expedition.html

In April 2013, Charlotte Shaw’s mother also lost her appeal – reported on the BBC News website here:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-devon-22204495

Uren v Corporate Leisure (UK) Ltd [2011]

BBC News Online ‘Former RAF man wins right to sue MoD over game injury’ 2 February 2011
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-cornwall-12343537

Scout Association v Barnes [2010]

A newspaper report on the Court of Appeal decision
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/children_shealth/8216609/Playing-games-in-dark-too-dangerous-Court-of-Appeal-tells-scouts.html

Harris v Perry [2008]

Bouncy castle supervision 'vital' 8 May 2008 – on the HC decision in Harris v Perry.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/kent/7390803.stm

Bouncy castle ruling overturned 31 July 2008 – on the Court of Appeal decision in Harris v Perry
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/kent/7534645.stm

Alexandra Topping ‘Parents win appeal over head injury on bouncy castle’ The Guardian
http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2008/aug/01/law

Harris v Perry
http://www.sjol.co.uk/issue-5/perry-v-harris

‘Accident do happen’ Nicholas Dobson wonders how far prospective defendants need to go in taking steps to avoid mishap in the New Law Journal in September 2008
http://www.newlawjournal.co.uk/nlj/content/accidents-do-happen

On the Social Action, Responsibility and Heroism Act 2015 (SARAH)

You can follow the full legislative process from Bill to Act here:
http://services.parliament.uk/bills/2014-15/socialactionresponsibilityandheroism/stages.html

For a strong critique of the Act see Sadiq Khan,
‘Parliament has more important priorities than this spiffwaddle’, LabourList, 20 October 2014

http://labourlist.org/2014/10/parliament-has-more-important-priorities-than-this-spiffwaddle/

And compare Chris Grayling’s defence: ‘Our Bill to curb the Elf and Safety Culture’ Conservative Home, 2 June 2014
http://www.conservativehome.com/platform/2014/06/chris-grayling-mp-our-bill-to-curb-the-elf-and-safety-culture.html

Medical negligence

The UK Human Rights Blog is not only for the reading eye. Here's an audio version of David Hart's post on the recent case of FB v. Princess Alexandra Hospital NHS Trust [2017] EWCA Civ 334, 12 May 2017 involving a junior doctor, a sick baby and the question of what we expect of senior house officers on busy Accident and Emergency admissions: https://ukhumanrightsblog.com/2017/05/28/more-on-junior-doctors-liability-audio/

There are many news stories about claims for medical negligence. Many include short videos explaining what’s happened in a particular case and links to the HM Courts Service so that you can then read the judgment of a particular case in full. Here’s a few from the BBC News website to get you started:

Altnagelvin Hospital: Boy injured at birth set for £5m payout, 16 January 2019
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-foyle-west-46893906

Belfast Trust agrees £8m settlement over brain damage, 17 January 2018
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-42721152

Six-figure settlement for failure to advise top athlete of spinal surgery risks:
http://www.penningtons.co.uk/news-publications/latest-news/six-figure-settlement-for-failure-to-advise-top-athlete-of-spinal-surgery-risks/

Medical legal costs 'excessive and should be capped', 28 June 2015
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-33287879

Parents win damages after son left brain damaged, 14 June 2013
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-22913975

NHS pays out £41million compensation to patients including for false teeth falling in the loo, 19 May 2013
http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/nhs-pays-out-41million-compensation-1896977

Hospitals reveal 750 'should never happen' blunders, 9 May 2013
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-22366147

£7.3m pay-out for brain-damaged boy from Hertfordshire, 20 March 2013
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-beds-bucks-herts-21861568

NHS pays out £1million in compensation to men who have had the wrong TESTICLE removed, 17 February 2013
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2279984/NHS-pays-1million-compensation-men-wrong-TESTICLE-removed.html

Girl wins right to big NHS pay-out, 13 October 2008
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/7667831.stm

Discharged baby may 'have lived' 12 November 2008
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/7725120.stm

Girl, 9, wins £3.3m medical claim, 17 October 2008
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/7676291.stm