On 2 December 2019 Martin Spencer J approved a settlement of £1.35m in this cerebral palsy case which was compromised without any concession of liability from the Defendant. I represented the Claimant[1]. A review of the facts highlights the continuing uncertainties about how far the decision in Montgomery really goes. At the same time this […]
Read More… from Stepping on from Montgomery: AXM v. Southampton NHS Trust
On 4 November 2019 Master Cook struck out a nervous shock claim by the children of Mr Paul who collapsed and died from an untreated heart condition whilst out on a shopping trip with them in the centre of Wolverhampton. This is the latest skirmish in a long running battle between claimants and defendants over […]
The recent case of Arksey v Cambridge University Hospitals [2019] EWHC 1276 QB is a useful reminder of the pitfalls of finalising expert reports for disclosure. The Judge criticised the Claimant’s expert neurosurgeon, in a number of respects, most of which stemmed from his disclosed report predating the pleadings and therefore not taking account of […]
Read More… from Ten point checklist for finalising expert reports for exchange
CXB v North West Anglia NHS Foundation Trust [2019] EWHC 2053 (QB) There is no general principle that the courts should prefer assertions contained in clinical records over factual accounts in witness evidence. That was the view of His Honour Judge Gore QC (sitting as a Deputy High Court Judge), rejecting the Defendant’s submission based […]
Read More… from Clinical records do not necessarily trump lay evidence
In this article Simon Fox QC reviews the Bolam test for breach of duty in clinical negligence in the light of recent case law and asks – is it still the test for breach? Since I transferred from medicine to law 25 years ago, I have always thought that the Bolam test cannot logically apply […]