Causation in clinical negligence cases

Davies v Frimley Health NHS Foundation Trust [2021] EWHC 169 (QB)

It can be difficult to establish causation in clinical negligence cases, partly because of complexities in the progress of a disease. For the sake of clarity, the High Court has held that there is no distinct doctrine of “material contribution” applicable to clinical negligence cases involving a disease process causing an indivisible injury, where it is medically impossible to determine whether, at the moment the negligence occurred, the process had passed a critical phase which could assist in establishing “but for” causation.