Recently, Melanie Mills, Afiya Amesu and Elliott Clifton- Thompson of the Personal Injury and Clinical Negligence Groups have delivered training sessions covering the latest developments regarding Duty of Care and Causation in clinical negligence claims and the practical ramifications that follow.
The talk delivered by Melanie and Afiya provided a comprehensive exploration of the key developments in Duty of Care in clinical negligence cases which included:
- The importance of medical guidelines and their interpretation in determining breach of duty.
- Updates in cases of informed consent and alternative treatment.
- The examination of the scope of duty following K v MNX [2021] UKSC 21.
- Secondary victim claims within the clinical negligence context following the Supreme Court decision in the case of Paul & Anor v Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust [2024] UKSC 1 (which also decided the cases of Polmear & Anor v Royal Cornwall Hospitals NHS Trust and Purchase v Ahmed).
Elliott’s training session focussed on the need to reasonably identify the factual hypothetical when considering the “but for” test in the clinical negligence context. The talk specifically looked at:
- An examination of how the authorities have developed on causation;
- Specific issues with the factual hypothetical in consent cases;
- How causation was looked at in Montgomery v Lanarkshire Health Board [2015] UKSC 11
- Tips for practitioners in identifying the factual hypothetical and how to address this with experts;
Please contact William Theaker for any enquiries regarding training sessions and topical talks that members of the Groups can provide.