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Tort law cases often make the news headlines. The purpose of the web links provided here is to fill you in on some of the background to the cases and, occasionally, statutes that you are studying. They include a mixture of video and audio clips, newspaper reports, blog posts, Government reports, case reports and so on. We've also taken the opportunity to include 'updates' where the law has changed or developed since the publication of the book.
In our experience it is often easier to remember the facts or decision of a particular case when you know a bit more about its background - when you can, for example, visualise the parties involved, or picture the accident or event that lead to the claim. We also believe that awareness of the context of a particular case or the passage of a statute can often help students understand – and begin to question – why the decision was reached, or why the introduction of legislation was felt necessary. Our view is that it is important that you experience – and engage with – tort law as a dynamic and fluid process, as a body of progressive rather than static, ahistorical rules. We hope that the links provided here (as well as other things you may link to from them) will help you do this and that they will give you a sense of historical perspective and an insight into the role of the context and history in the development of legal doctrine.
We've done our best to ensure that the links are as extensive as possible but the links are (obviously) not exhaustive. We urge you to make keep an eye on developments both in tort and other areas of law by reading good legal blogs as well as the law pages of quality newspapers online.
Of course, we also know that on occasions (particularly when a deadline is pressing) these sort of additional materials (as well as the others included on our online resources) can prove to be a bit of a distraction. These links are intended to supplement your studies. They are not an alternative to the harder work of reading the text book, academic commentary, and cases. In fact, there is no excuse for not reading the cases. Within these web links we've provided deep links on BAILLI to a selection of key cases from each chapter, and we encourage you to put your background reading, watching, and surfing to good use by reading these in full so that you gain a deeper understanding of the issues they raise.
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).
Coronavirus
James Todd and Emma Corkill, ‘What standard of care should hospitals be held to in the Covid-19 outbreak?’ 22 April 2020
https://www.39essex.com/what-standard-of-care-should-hospitals-be-held-to-in-the-covid-19-outbreak/
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
Podcast with Nadine Montgomery
https://www.buzzsprout.com/179951/2077788-kings-chambers-debrief-episode-10-montgomery-v-lanarkshire-health-board-part-i
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
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/2017/05/22/what-can-reasonably-be-expected-of-junior-doctors/
Law Pod UK Episode: Informed Consent
In Episode 64 of Law Pod UK, John Whitting QC talks to Rosalind English about the realities of clinical encounters and considers to what extent patients are willing, or in some circumstances even able – to take on board multiple options for their treatment.
https://ukhumanrightsblog.com/2019/02/04/new-law-pod-uk-episode-informed-consent/#more-85981
Newspaper reports
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
See also
‘NHS has paid out £108m in compensation for fatality claims over past two years’, Daily Mirror, 29 Mirror 2015
http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/nhs-paid-out-108m-compensation-5787642
Medical negligence is big business – have a look at some of the website advertising their services for people who’ve been injured to see what their offering
Injury Lawyers 4U
http://www.injurylawyers4u.co.uk/what-to-claim-for/clinical-medical-negligence/
Irwin Mitchell:
http://www.irwinmitchell.com/personal/personal-injury-compensation/medical-negligence
And for a different perspective …
John Hyde, ‘News focus: our clinical negligence award was not a 'lottery win'’, Law Society Gazette, 4 March 2019
https://www.lawgazette.co.uk/news-focus/news-focus-our-clinical-negligence-award-was-not-a-lottery-win/5069471.article
The NHS Litigation Authority is a not-for-profit part of the NHS which manages negligence and other claims against the NHS in England.
Read more here: http://www.nhsla.com/Claims/Pages/Home.aspx and for information on the actual number and value of claims against the NHS see here: http://www.nhsla.com/CurrentActivity/Pages/FOIFactSheets.aspx
Cases and legislation
Nettleship v Weston [1971]
www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWCA/Civ/1971/6.html
Bolitho v. City and Hackney Health Authority [1997]
www.bailii.org/uk/cases/UKHL/1997/46.html
Harris v Perry [1998]
http://www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWCA/Civ/2008/907.html
Robinson v Post Office [2000] – for opening chapter problem question
www.bailii.org/uk/cases/UKEAT/2000/1209_99_1207.html
Compensation Act 2006
www.opsi.gov.uk/acts/acts2006/ukpga_20060029_en_1
Social Action, Responsibility and Heroism Act 2015
http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2015/3/contents/enacted
Scout Association v Barnes [2010]
http://www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWCA/Civ/2010/1476.html
Montgomery v Lanarkshire NHS Trust [2015]
https://www.supremecourt.uk/cases/docs/uksc-2013-0136-judgment.pdf