Medical + health law blog, Australia
Breach of duty of care was admitted in a recent ACT Supreme Court decision Schollum v ACT & Kellett [2012] ACTSC 58. Ms Schollum had suffered a fracture to her left radius and ulna, which was treated by placing the arm in a long-arm plaster back slab. It was conceded that the appropriate treatment should …
Continue reading "Fracture to arm – inappropriate treatment"
With thanks to MJA Insight and Associate Professor Tina Cockburn, for permission to reproduce the following piece from MJA Insight on 30 April 2012. There is an “in good faith” protection from liability for persons making a notification or otherwise providing information to AHPRA provided by section 237(2) of the Health Practitioner Regulation National …
Continue reading "MJA Insight – Mandatory reporting & defamation"
Can a complaint about a medical practitioner be defamatory, or are such complaints protected? Lucire v Permegiani [2012] NSWCA 86 provides some further assistance on that issue, in holding that the making of a complaint was not covered by absolute privelege under the relevant statute or at common law. Accordingly the defamation claim made by …
A 'failure to warn' case, Wallace v Kam [2012] NSWCA 82, raised a novel issue before the New South Wales Court of Appeal. Mr Wallace underwent a fusion procedure, in an effort to alleviate pain caused by an intevertebral disc protrusion. Dr Kam did not warn him of the 5% risk of paralysis. The outcome …
Continue reading "Failure to warn of a risk that did not materialise"
As part of a series 'Transparency & Medicine'. The Conversation has published a short piece by Tina Cockburn and me, entitled 'Open disclsoure: why doctors should be honest about errors'.
In Delphin v Martin [2012] TASSC 13, the Supreme Court of Tasmania considered a claim for nerve damage and other matters arising from dental treatment. The Court found that Mr Delphin should have been told of the risk of nerve damage and that, if so warned, he would not have chosen to proceed with the …
The father (called Mr Talbot, a pseudonym) applied to the Family Court of Australia for an urgent injunction to prevent the mother, Ms Norman (also a psuedonym), from obtaining a termination of her pregnancy. Ms Norman although aged only 16, had one child from a previous relationship. Her pregnancy to Mr Talbot was at about …
Continue reading "Injunction to prevent termination of pregnancy?"
The Australian Health Ministers' Advisory Council has published a working group report, entitled 'Cosmetic Medical and Surgical Procedures - A National Framework'. The report makes a number of recommendations including: a prohibition on offering such procedures as prizes, commission payments and financing schemes protocols for adequate post operative care a 'cooling off period' of 3 …
Coote v Kelly [2012] NSWSC 219 involved a claim against a general practitioner for failure to diagnose a melanoma. The court found that Dr Kelly had breached his duty of care to Mr Coote, given that the relevant lesion was pigmented when first seen by him. There was no issue in that if it was …
On 12 March 2012, Justice Charles handed a decision of the High Court Of England & Wales, in what is reported to be the first case of its type there: Nicklinson v Ministry of Justice [2012] EWHC304 (QB). The judgment is preliminary, confirming only that the applicant Mr Nicklinson has an arguable case. A full …
Continue reading "Euthanasia – application for declaration that killing not unlawful"
