A doctor is not guilty of negligence if he or she has acted in accordance with a practice accepted as proper and responsible by a responsible body of medical practitioners skilled in that particular art. Proving clinical negligence using case law. The House of Lords clarified the Bolam test to include a proviso that the practice accepted as proper by a responsible body of professionals must be based on logical and defensible grounds. In order for negligence to be proven a Claimant (usually the patient) must show that the doctor owed a duty of care to the patient, that the doctor was negligent in his or her management, and also that the patient suffered harm as a result. Patient is a UK registered trade mark. Putting it the other way around, a doctor is not negligent if he or she is acting in accordance with such a practice merely because there is a body of opinion which takes the contrary view. Consult a doctor or other health care professional for diagnosis and treatment of medical conditions. All rights reserved. Any situation when the patient has refused to be examined or comply with treatment. Once again, the issue here was to determine if this satisfied the. The Bolitho Test. Patient does not provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. So there was a need to decide if the hypothetical decision not to intubate Patrick would have been a breach of duty. Other tests and standards are also taken into account, such as those standardised by the Gregg vs Scott case, which was brought before the House of Lords in 2002. Our specialist medical negligence team we offer FREE initial advice on the phone and a FREE first appointment for all medical compensation claims. The Bolam test was later supplemented by the Bolitho addendum in the case of Bolitho v City & Hackney Health Authority [Bolitho]. Patient Platform Limited has used all reasonable care in compiling the information but make no warranty as to its accuracy. The most important rule here is that 'experts' have to understand that they are there to advise the court and not to take the side of the party who is paying their fees. Can you prevent breakthrough bleeding on the pill? According to Bolam v Friern Hospital professionals won’t be in breach of their duty if they acted in accordance: The doctor, who did not show up, testified that they would not have intubated the child anyways, even if they did show up. The implications of this for those in primary care are that the standard against which one is judged is that of one's own peers - not that of the wisest and most prudent doctor who exists and not that of a hospital consultant who may carelessly venture opinion as to the management in general practice. Your email address will not be published. A doctor is not guilty of negligence if he or she has acted in accordance with a practice accepted as proper and responsible by a responsible body of medical practitioners skilled in t… The problems inherent within the Bolam liability test will then First, a key criticism of the Bolam-Bolitho standard is the decaying notion of medical paternalism it seeks to perpetuate. Feinmann J; You can say sorry. According to. Copyright 2019 - SimpleStudying is a trading name of SimpleStudying Ltd, a company registered in England and Wales. In the Bolitho case the defending doctor was acquitted both at the original trial, in the Court of Appeal, and finally in the House of Lords. ]Rg�ъ����{Q,`���������G^;�M�2�;f`�>��yd��rY�F��Ě*D��iT�pLP�]: �Ċw2�[sDZ:.>R�����l�T͆[��#�df��ė� ���L��H' ��kI{����$�� endstream endobj 1 0 obj <.