Duty of care arises where one individual or group undertakes an activity which could reasonably harm another, either physically, mentally, or economically. It also refers to the obligations placed on people to act towards others in a certain way, in accordance with certain standards. Two ways in which a duty of care may be established 1. the defendant and claimant are within one of the recognised relationships where a duty of care is established by precedent; or 2. outside th

Professor John Walker-Smith had been removed from the medical register because of professional misconduct. He was accused of taking part, without ethical approval, in controversial research that caused a global scare by suggesting a link between the Mumps-Measles-Rubella (MMR) vaccine, bowel disease and autism. The doctor said the treatments including lumbar punctures and colonoscopies were part of clinical care but not for research. Judgment: The judge criticised the discipl

Hanley was being given an injection but suffered an injury when the hypodermic needle broke. Judgment by Lord President Clyde: Deviation from ordinary professional practice is not necessarily evidence of negligence and it would hinder progress in medical treatment if the laws were to hold otherwise. Even a substantial deviation from normal practice may be warranted by the particular circumstances of a case. # This case happens before the Bolam case in 1957. Other details on t

A client with chronic mental disease sought injunction to prevent the amputation of his gangrenous foot without his written consent. Judgment by Thorpe J: The question to be decided is whether it has been established his capacity is so reduced by his chronic mental illness that he does not sufficiently understand the nature, purpose and effect of the amputation. Although his general capacity is impaired by his mental disease, it has not been established that he does not suffi

A pregnant Jehovah's Witness in road traffic accident, she refused blood transfusion according to her own religious belief. Judgment by Lord Donaldson MR: Doctors faced with a refusal of consent have to give very careful and detailed consideration to the patient's capacity to decide at the time when the decision was made. The more serious the decision, the greater the capacity required. If the patient had the requisite capacity, they are bound by his/her decision. If not, the

A mentally competent tetraplegic patient, as a result of catastrophic injuries leaving her unable to breathe without artificial respiration, requests that the life-sustaining artificial respiration be withdrawn. The health authority took this as an indication of lack of mental capacity and refused to disconnect the life support mechanisms. Judgment: The right of the mentally competent patient to refuse medical treatment even if the result is death (or no reasons at all) shoul

It is a case of cervical cord decompression surgery leading to paraplegia and the doctor did not explain the risk of paraplegia. Judgment: Rejecting her claim for damages, the court held that consent did not require an elaborate explanation of remote side effects. The Bolam test should not apply to the issue of informed consent. A doctor should have a duty to tell the patient of the inherent and material risk of the treatment proposed. It is much an exercise of professional s

Baby Gard suffers from a rare RRM2B mutation of MDDS with structured brain damage. A new therapy nucleoside therapy may benefit TK2 variants but cannot cross blood-brain barrier. The hospital requests to withdraw life support but parents could not agree. The hospital sought a declaration from the court as to the baby's best interests. Judgment: A declaration was made that the hospital may lawfully withdraw all treatment, save for palliative care, to permit the baby to die wit