Anaesthesia & intensive care medicine
Volume 10, Issue 3 , Pages 107-110, March 2009

Clinical negligence

Robert Palmer holds degrees in both Scottish and English Law, and specializes in financial services. He currently works with Aviva plc in York, UK. Conflicts of interest: none declared

Mary C Maclachlan, MB ChB, studied medicine at the Victoria University of Manchester, UK. After qualification she continued to complete a Postgraduate Certificate in Law. She subsequently became a clinical negligence lawyer at Pannone & Partners. Since leaving law she bought and now manages a small woodland where she teaches children in the outdoors. Conflicts of interest: none declared

Abstract 

Clinical negligence cases are based on the assumption that a doctor owes patients a duty to take reasonable care when treating or advising them. Doctors breach this duty if their treatment falls below the standard expected by a responsible body of medical opinion. The doctor will be held to have acted negligently. A patient may then have a claim for compensation if, and only if, the patient can prove, on the balance of probabilities, that the negligence has caused physical or emotional injury. A claim must be commenced within three years of when the injury occurred or it will be time barred.

Keywords: breach of duty, causation, duty of care, medical negligence, negligence, statute of limitation

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PII: S1472-0299(08)00309-3

doi:10.1016/j.mpaic.2008.12.009

Anaesthesia & intensive care medicine
Volume 10, Issue 3 , Pages 107-110, March 2009

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