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Duty Of Care

Medical negligence claims are governed by the law of negligence which has developed slowly for centuries however the milestone event was the 1932 case of Donoghue (or McAlister) v. Stevenson finally heard on appeal in the House of Lords which established the beginnings of modern law. In order to prove a claim within the general law it is necessary show that a duty of care exists, that the duty has been breached and that reasonably foreseeable harm has arisen as a result of the breach.

The Bolam Test

Medical negligence claims rely on a sub set of rules based on the above with specific requirements that apply to most of the professions. The Bolam test deriving from the 1957 case of Bolam v Friern Hospital Management Committee is one of the rules used to determine liability. This rule requires a professional person to achieve a degree of skill that matches other similar professionals. It is not an absolute test and perfection is not required. In addition the 1997 case of Bolitho v City and Hackney Health Authority determined that if a significant body of professionals would have acted differently from the mainstream then following that alternative course of action would not result in liability even though it failed provided that the minority view was considered to be logical.

Limitation Of Time

The Limitation Act 1980 determines when a personal injury claim becomes statute barred preventing it from being pursued in a court of law. A basic time limit of three years from the date that the personal injury was discovered applies after which the opportunity to make medical negligence claims may have been lost forever. There are however quite a number of exceptions to the general rules and professional advice should always be sought in regards to limitation issues which can be complex. Some of the exceptions to the general three year rule are as follows :-

• The three year time limit cannot start running until the potential claimant achieves the age of eighteen years.
• Time does not run against the mentally incapacitated until lucidity has returned if ever.
• Judges can, in their wisdom, extend the time limits in cases where it would be inequitable not to do so. This discretion is rarely exercised .

Free Legal Advice

We can offer you advice on your specific situation either in person or over the phone. If you want to find out if you have a good case and how much money your claim may be worth, don’t hesitate to get in touch with our experts today. Regardless of your decision, you are never under any obligation to use our service. For free advice just complete the contact form and a specialist solicitor will phone you as soon as possible. If after talking to us you decide to proceed no further then you are under no obligation to do so and you will not be charged for our initial advice.