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Bentley v Bristol and Weston Health Authority (No 2)

(1991) 3 Med LR 01

Professional liability — Orthopaedic surgeon — Hip replacement operation — Sciatic nerve paralysis — Inherent risk in dislocation procedure — Damage to sciatic nerve during operation — Whether caused by stretching of nerve in course of operation; direct or indirect pressure on nerve; or ischaemic lesion of nerve due to occlusion of blood supply by atheroma or damage to branch of inferior gluteal artery

Phillips v Grampian Health Board

(1991) 3 Med LR 16

Professional liability — Surgeon — Diagnosis — Patient presented with swollen, hard left testicle — Report diagnosing gonorrhoea — Cancer not ruled out — Serious alternative diagnosis to tumour — Surgical exploration and biopsy not carried out — Whether surgeons at fault — Professional judgment and opinion in ambiguous case — Duty to follow up — Limitation of action — Patient aware of serious nature of condition — Whether reasonably practicable for patient to discover extent and causation of his cancer — Damage — Loss — Whether widow suffered no loss where deceased husband's death due to medical condition which pre-dated marriage

Goorkani v Tayside Health Board

(1991) 3 Med LR 33

Professional liability — Drug treatment — Side effects — Duty to warn of side effects — Immuno — suppressive therapy — Treatment with Chlorambucil — Eyesight saved but patient irreversibly sterile — Treatment initially on trial short — term basis — Doctor aware of risk of infertility where treatment longer term — Patient not advised of risk — Whether physician of ordinary competence would have given any advice as to risk of infertility — Whether sperm banking should have been offered — Damages — Quantum — Infertility — Frustration and disruption brought to marriage relationship

R v Pawsey

(1991) 3 Med LR 39

Medical practitioner — Relationship with patient — Whether relationship ceases on death — Claim for “professional attendance” upon a “patient” — Claim in respect of a corpse of a dead patient — Whether statement false in a material respect

B v Islington Health Authority

(1991) 2 Med LR 133

Negligence — Duty of care — Right to sue — Plaintiff injured due to defendants' alleged negligence at time when plaintiff was embryo en ventre sa mere and not capable of being born alive — Whether plaintiff had legal status and entitled to sue in negligence after birth — Whether defendants owed duty of care to plaintiff

Johnstone v Bloomsbury Health Authority

(1991) 2 Med LR 138

National Health Service — Contract of employment — Senior house officer — Allegation by doctor employee of requirement to work excessive hours damaging doctor's health — Contractual duty on doctor to be available for duty for average 48 hours beyond basic 40 hours — Whether health authority employer under duty to take reasonable care not to injure doctor's health

R v UK Central Council for Nursing Midwifery and Health Visiting, ex p Bailey

(1991) 2 Med LR 145

Professional register — Registered nurse — Judicial review — Separate registers of nurses maintained by various professional bodies — Nurse registered with GNC — Transfer of GNC's liabilities to UK central council — Decision by central council that nurse's registration had ceased to be effective and that payment was required from her for renewal of registration — Whether regulations made by central council ultra vires — Whether notice to nurse had to be received 45 days before day fixed for payment of renewal fee

Hughes v Waltham Forest Health Authority

(1991) 2 Med LR 155

Professional liability (surgeon) — Gallstone operation — Failure to send patient for endoscopic retrograde cholangio — pancreatocogram — Whether patient discharged from hospital too soon — Death of patient — Whether liability established — Conflict of evidence in specialist field of surgery

Malette v Shulman

(1991) 2 Med LR 162

Consent — Refusal — Battery — Unconscious adult patient carrying Jehovah's Witness card requesting no blood transfusion — Whether doctor administering transfusion in emergency liable in battery

Nash v Eli Lilly

(1991) 2 Med LR 169

Limitation of action — Personal injuries — Multiparty pharmaceutical action (Opren) — Writs issued after three years from date on which cause of action arose — Whether claims time barred — Date of plaintiff's knowledge (a) that injury significant, (b) that injury attributable to act or omission alleged to constitute negligence or breach of duty, (c) of defendant's identity — Meaning of “act or omission”, “attributable” and “knowledge” — Whether court should exercise discretion to permit actions to proceed — Whether plaintiffs failed to take all reasonable steps to obtain expert advice — Limitation Act 1980 sects 11(4)(a)(b), 14(1)(a)(b)(c), (2), (3), 33(1), (3)

Hay v University of Alberta Hospital

(1991) 2 Med LR 204

Confidentiality — Medical negligence action — Plaintiff refusing consent to discussions between defence counsel and his treating physicians — Whether court would allow application for defence counsel to interview plaintiff's doctors — Whether confidentiality waived by plaintiff

Jackson v Chapman

(1991) 2 Med LR 208

Practice and procedure — Consent — Sterilization — Mentally incompetent patient

De Martell v Merton & Sutton Health Authority

(1991) 2 Med LR 209

Negligence — Duty of care — Right to sue — Plaintiff injured due to defendants' alleged negligence at time when plaintiff was embryo en ventre sa mere — Whether plaintiff had legal status and entitled to sue in negligence after birth — Whether defendants owed duty of care to plaintiff

Taylor v Worcester & District Health Authority

(1991) 2 Med LR 215

Professional liability — Anaesthetist — Caesarian operation — Patient experiencing episode of awareness — Whether anaesthetist failed to use proper procedure; failed to exercise skill and judgment in selection of drugs; failed to monitor levels of anaesthetic agent presented to patient — Whether patient's episode of awareness occurred during operation or at reversal of anaesthetic

Ackers v Wigan Health Authority

(1991) 2 Med LR 232

Damages — Caesarian section operation — Patient conscious during operation — Liability admitted — Experience followed by illness of psychiatric nature — Sexual relations with husband affected — Refusal to undergo operations for cyst removal and varicose veins due to fear of general anaesthesia — Appropriate quantum of damages for pain, suffering and loss of amenities

Salih v Enfield Health Authority

(1991) 2 Med LR 235

Damages — Quantum — Handicapped child — Negligent failure to diagnose and warn mother that child could be affected by rubella — Whether expenses claimed were necessary or reasonable — Whether claim for loss of earnings established — Whether mother entitled to only nominal general damages — Whether parents entitled to basic cost of providing for and maintaining child

Pickering v Liverpool Daily Post

(1991) 2 Med LR 240

Mental health — Mental health review tribunal — Application for release by restricted patient — Publication of proceedings — Whether an absolute duty not to publish information about application — Mental Health Review Tribunal Rules 1983 (SI 1983 no 942) rules 21(1)(5), 24(1)(2) — Mental Health Act 1983 — Meaning of “court”, “proceedings” — Contempt of Court Act 1981 section 19

Locke v Camberwell Health Authority

(1991) 2 Med LR 249

Practice — Costs — Medical negligence action — Fresh evidence — Alleged failure by plaintiff's solicitor to conduct proceedings with reasonable competence — Inconsistent opinions by plaintiff's medical expert — Criticism of plaintiff's solicitor and junior counsel unjustified

Reza v General Medical Council

(1991) 2 Med LR 255

Professional conduct — Medical practitioner — Serious professional misconduct — Whether charges to be tried separately or as a whole — Whether similar fact evidence admissible — Whether evidence corroborated — Whether witnesses guilty of collusion — Whether practitioner's name should be erased from register — General Medical Council Preliminary Proceedings Committee and Professional Conduct Committee (Procedure) Rules 1988

McInerney v MacDonald

(1991) 2 Med LR 267

Confidentiality — Patient's medical records — Right of patient to receive copies of reports of other medical practitioners considered by doctor in providing treatment for patient — Canada

Brushett v Cowan

(1991) 2 Med LR 271

Professional liability — Orthopaedic surgeon — Investigative surgery — Consent — Whether bone biopsy covered by consent form for muscle biopsy — Negligence — Standard of care — Duty to advise patient on use of crutches — Whether patient contributorily negligent in failing to ask for advice

In re Estate of Longeway

(1991) 2 Med LR 276

Medical treatment — Consent — Terminally ill patient — Whether guardian of terminally ill and irreversibly comatose patient may exercise right to refuse artificial nutrition and hydration on patient's behalf

R v Adamako

(1991) 2 Med LR 277

Negligence — Criminal law — Gross negligence — Anaesthetist's duty of care — Alleged failure by anaesthetist to recognize total disconnection of anaesthetized patient from ventilator — Death of patient due to hypoxia — Anaesthetist indicted on two counts of perjury and one count of manslaughter — Instructions to jury

Bovenzi v Kettering Health Authority

(1991) 2 Med LR 293

Professional liability — Gynaecologist — D and C — Treatment of partial miscarriage — Damage to small bowel during ERPC — Damages

Grieve v Salford Health Authority

(1991) 2 Med LR 295

Damages — Quantum — Pain, suffering and loss of amenities — Still — born child — Plaintiff of vulnerable personality — Damages for prolongation of labour, degree of additional pain, loss of child and psychological damage

Eastman v SW Thames Regional Health Authority

(1991) 2 Med LR 297

Negligence — Duty of care — Ambulance — Passenger escorting patient in back of ambulance — Whether health authority under duty to instruct ambulance crews to identify seat belts and encourage their use by passenger escorting patient in rear of ambulance

Coyne v Wigan Health Authority

(1991) 2 Med LR 301

Professional liability — Anaesthestist — Post—operative care — Res ipsa loquitur — Hypoxia following routine operation — Whether caused by silent regurgitation of gastric content

E v Australian Red Cross Society

(1991) 2 Med LR 303

Product liability — Blood product — HIV infected plasma — Supply of infected blood product to applicant patient by hospital — Product supplied to hospital by second respondent New South Wales Division of first respondent Australian Red Cross Society — Claim by patient under Commonwealth Trade Practices Act 1974 and in negligence — Whether each respondent a “trading corporation” — Whether hospital an emanation of Crown — Whether implied representations made to patient — Whether blood supplied “in trade or commerce” — Whether claims time barred — Whether notice signed by blood donor defective — Whether failure to adopt earlier surrogate testing of blood constituted negligence — Commonwealth Trade Practices Act 1974, sections 4, 4B, 52, 55A, 71, 74, 82

AB v Wyeth & Brother

(1991) 2 Med LR 341

Practice — Group litigation — Benzodiazepine Litigation Scheme — Whether court should impose cut — off date for claimants in tranquillizer litigation to join scheme — Evidence — Document — Disclosure — Reference in medical report to statement made by plaintiff to solicitor — Whether statement relied on by doctor making report — Practice — Pleadings — Group litigation — Individual statements of claim — Plaintiff's particular case must be identified — Blanket pleading of limitation period extension criticized

Driscoll-Varley v Parkside Health Authority

(1991) 2 Med LR 346

Limitation — Personal injuries — Medical negligence claim — Knowledge — Fractured leg — Two writs issued — Alleged premature removal of traction — Plaintiff pre-occupied with retaining specific surgeon in whom she had trust — Whether plaintiff had actual or constructive knowledge — Meaning of “significant”, “attributable” — Limitation Act 1980

Bentley v Bristol & Weston Health Authority

(1991) 2 Med LR 359

Limitation — Knowledge — Act or omission alleged to constitute negligence — Whether expert opinion relevant — Whether court would grant relief under Limitation Act 1980 section 33

Davis v City & Hackney Health Authority

(1991) 2 Med LR 366

Limitation — Knowledge — Expert advice — Reasonable steps — Plaintiff spastic's belief that he had a claim for mishandling at delivery — Knowledge that act or omission alleged to constitute negligence was injection of Ovametrin not acquired until expert's report obtained — Whether plaintiff should have consulted solicitor earlier

Meyer v Rogers

(1991) 2 Med LR 370

Professional liability — Radiologist — Diagnostic medical test (IVP) — Allergic reaction to hypaque dye causing patient's death — Causation — Whether radiologist failed to disclose slight risk

Feist v Gordon

(1991) 2 Med LR 376

Professional liability — Ophthalmologist — Eyeball punctured during injection — Res ipsa loquitur — Whether selection of subtenon instead of subcon junctival situs for injection constituted negligence

Lask v Gloucester Health Authority

(1991) 2 Med LR 379

Practice and procedure — Discovery — Legal professional privilege — Confidental accident report used by health authority — Report contemplated in NHS circular — Whether report had a dual purpose — Whether health authority failed to establish that dominant purpose of report was to meet potential claim

Ackley v Wyeth Laboratories Inc

(1991) 2 Med LR 384

Product liability — Pertussis vaccine — Strict liability — Whether vaccine unavoidably unsafe — Alleged negligent design — Whether warning by manufacturer was adequate

Keys v British Gas plc

(1991) 2 Med LR 385

Practice — Medical reports — Effect — Personal injury action — Reports agreed — Liability admitted by defendants — Evidence called by defendants against medical reports at trial — Whether trial judge failed to direct himself in accordance with agreed medical evidence — Medical evidence for plaintiff that problems with work were result of accident — Whether defendants should have been allowed to call evidence to contrary or should have given notice that they were going to do so