Simon Singh wins libel court battle – The Guardian

“Science writer Simon Singh today won his court of appeal battle for the right to rely on the defence of fair comment in a libel action.”

Full story

The Guardian, 1st April 2010

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Essex NHS trust must pay brain-damaged boy £1.75m – BBC News

Posted March 31st, 2010 in birth, compensation, hospitals, medical treatment, negligence, news by sally

“The parents of a brain damaged boy from Essex have been awarded £1.75m compensation by the High Court.”

Full story

BBC News, 31st March 2010

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Massive rise in cost to NHS of settling compensation cases – The Independent

Posted March 29th, 2010 in compensation, fees, medical treatment, negligence, news by sally

“The cost of no-win, no-fee legal claims against the National Health Service has risen 16-fold in five years. A breakdown of clinical negligence cases settled by the NHS under ‘conditional fee arrangements’ (CFA), in which solicitors get paid only if they win a case, shows that their value – in costs and damages – has risen from £6.5m in 2004-05 to £108m last year.”

Full story

The Independent, 28th MArch 2010

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Family wins payout over mother Lavinia Bletchly’s undiagnosed cancer – The Independent

Posted March 26th, 2010 in cancer, compensation, medical treatment, negligence, news by sally

“The family of a young mother who died after doctors failed to diagnose her cancer secured a six-figure pay-out from an NHS body today.”

Full story

The Independent, 26th March 2010

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Paramedic who failed to treat critically injured biker escapes being struck off – Daily Telegraph

“A paramedic who covered a critically injured motorcyclist with a tarpaulin and stopped treating him when he was still breathing has escaped being struck off.”

Full story

Daily Telegraph, 12th March 2010

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Simon Singh in court to appeal ruling over Guardian article – The Guardian

Posted February 23rd, 2010 in appeals, defamation, medical treatment, news by sally

“The science writer Simon Singh is in court today to appeal against a preliminary libel ruling over a Guardian article in which he criticised the British Chiropractic Association (BCA).”

Full story

The Guardian, 23rd February 2010

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Judge approves £5.6m compensation package for disabled teenager – The Independent

Posted February 1st, 2010 in birth, compensation, hospitals, medical treatment, negligence, news by sally

“A High Court judge described being ‘humbled’ today by the devoted care given by the family of a girl brain-damaged at birth as she gave her backing to a £5.6 million compensation package.”

Full story

The Independent, 1st February 2010

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Rights for NHS patients now law – Daily Telegraph

Posted January 19th, 2010 in hospitals, medical treatment, medicines, news by sally

“Rights for NHS patients to be treated with dignity and respect are now enshrined in law for the first time, ministers have announced.”

Full story

Daily Telegraph, 19th January 2010

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Judge leaves court to calm down during case of ‘abandoned’ sick child – The Times

Posted December 8th, 2009 in adjournment, children, local government, medical treatment, news by sally

“A senior family judge took the extraordinary step of leaving court to calm down because he was so angered by two local authorities who ‘abandoned’ a sick boy to save money.”

Full story

The Times, 8th December 2009

Source: www.timesonline.co.uk

Leading article: Hard cases and good law – The Independent

Posted November 11th, 2009 in children, hospitals, medical ethics, medical treatment, news by sally

“The sad case of Baby RB, which has been argued to and fro before the High Court, ended summarily yesterday when the one-year-old boy’s father accepted the hospital’s case for withdrawing life support. This unexpected development had two immediate effects. The doctors are now within their rights to halt life support, so as to allow the severely disabled child – as the hospital put it – ‘a peaceful, calm and dignified death’. And the judge will not have to reach a decision – although he hinted what it would have been when he said that the outcome was, in his view, ‘inevitable’.”

Full story

The Independent, 11th November 2009

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Father fights to stop hospital withdrawing life support for baby son – The Guardian

Posted November 2nd, 2009 in children, hospitals, medical treatment, news by sally

“A father whose son was born with a rare neuromuscular condition will go to the high court tomorrow [2nd Nov.] in an attempt to stop a hospital withdrawing the support that keeps the child alive.”

Full story

The Guardian, 1st November 2009

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Waiting list patients will get right to go private – The Independent

Posted November 2nd, 2009 in medical treatment, news by sally

“Patients forced to wait 18 weeks for treatment on the NHS will be given a new legal right to receive it from the private sector.”

Full story

The Independent, 31st October 2009

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Boy, 10, awarded £7.1m over medical negligence at birth – The Independent

Posted October 13th, 2009 in compensation, medical treatment, negligence, news by sally

“A 10-year-old boy with a ‘great zest for life’ was awarded a compensation package totalling £7.1m today over medical negligence at birth which left him with severe brain damage.”

Full story

The Independent, 13th October 2009

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Doctors ‘forced’ to allow suicide – BBC News

Posted October 2nd, 2009 in medical treatment, news, suicide by sally

“Doctors were forced to allow a suicidal woman who had swallowed anti-freeze to die, because she refused medical help.”

Full story

BBC News, 1st October 2009

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Killer wins birthmark op battle – BBC News

Posted September 3rd, 2009 in medical treatment, news, prisons by sally

“A man serving a life sentence for a double murder has won a High Court victory over his right to have cosmetic surgery on the NHS.”

Full story

BBC News, 2nd September 2009

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

NHS compensation costs rise to £807m – The Guardian

Posted August 19th, 2009 in compensation, medical treatment, negligence, news by sally

“The NHS spent more than £800m settling legal claims last year as complaints of medical negligence against the service rose sharply.”

Full story

The Guardian, 19th August 2009

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

NHS faces huge claim for damages – BBC News

Posted July 1st, 2009 in assault, class actions, hospitals, medical treatment, mental health, news by sally

“Lawyers are preparing a multi-million pound damages claim against the NHS for adults with learning difficulties who were abused while in care in Cornwall.”

Full story

BBC News, 1st July 2009

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Medical law too often doffs its cap to the doctor’s white coat – The Times

Posted May 21st, 2009 in medical ethics, medical treatment, news by sally

“‘It’s up to you what you do with your own body,’ goes the rhetoric. But when you dive away from abstractions into the real world of suffering and desire, things are not so simple.”

Full story

The Times, 21st May 2009

Source: www.timesonline.co.uk

R (A) v Secretary of State for Health – WLR Daily

Posted April 2nd, 2009 in asylum, domicile, law reports, medical treatment by sally

R (A) v Secretary of State for Health [2009] EWCA Civ 225; [2009] WLR (D) 113

“A failed asylum seeker was not ‘ordinarily resident’ within the United Kingdom for the purposes of entitlement to treatment as of right by the National Health Service free of charge. The Guidance as to how a health body should exercise such discretion as it had to grant or withhold treatment in such a case was unlawful for lack of clarity.”

WLR Daily, 1st April 2009

Source: www.lawreports.co.uk

Please note once a case has been fully reported in one of the ICLR series the corresponding WLR Daily summary is removed.

Regina (A) v Secretary of State for Health – Times Law Reports

Posted April 2nd, 2009 in asylum, law reports, medical treatment by sally

Regina (A) v Secretary of State for Health

Court of Appeal

“A failed asylum seeker was not ordinarily resident in the United Kingdom so as to be entitled to free treatment by the National Health Service.”

The Times, 2nd April 2009

Source: www.timesonline.co.uk