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Medical Law

Question: The decision in Chester v Afshar 2004 UKHL 41 can be interpreted to mean both that a claimant can ignore the traditional rules of causation in a clinical negligence case and that the Bolam test (Bolam v Friern HMC 1957 2 All ER 582) is no longer relevant in determining what a patient should be told regarding the risks of medical treatment.

Consider the accuracy of this statement.

Answer: Chester v Afshar (1) has influenced two main issues in medical law and those are; the departure from the traditional rules of causation and the extent of disclosure of information prior to obtaining a patient’s consent for treatment. I will consider both of these points in turn. First I need to consider the traditional rules of causation before moving on to an analysis of Chester v Afshar in t......(short extract) to download the full answer, please Sign in or Register then make a payment or submit an essay

Question: Is the Doctrine of Double Effect legalising Euthanasia by the back door?

Answer: In order to fully discuss this question, the definitions of both double effect and euthanasia must be established and the medical, moral and legal aspects compared. Lord Edmund Davies surmised how these aspects may lead to radically different interpretations when he stated that “killing both pain and patient may be good morals but it is far from certain that it is good law.” In light of t......(short extract) to download the full answer, please Sign in or Register then make a payment or submit an essay

Question: Consider the current law on Abortion in the UK.
Give a concise history of the current status of the law, as well as earlier reforms to the law on abortion in the UK.
Critically analyse the different ethical approaches, issues and concepts with respect to this subject matter.
Evaluate the validity of the current law on abortion and the competing arguments for reform.

Answer: The current status of abortion in the UK is that a woman can have an abortion if two doctors agree that her need for abortion matches specific criteria laid down in law. Different reasons for the abortion are specified for earlier and later abortions, and some doctors will not refer women for abortions. The law says that doctors and nurses do not have to be involved in abortion procedures if they......(short extract) to download the full answer, please Sign in or Register then make a payment or submit an essay

Question: The case of Bolam v Friern Hospital Management Committee has been extended – needs to be restricted.

Discuss.

Answer: Historically, it is much harder to sue a doctor than would be the situation in a simple running-down case; a higher standard of proof is required . This statement would, perhaps, be more palatable if several factors contributed to it. However, Bolam v Friern Hospital Management Committee stands alone as its cause. The result is a “practitioner-oriented” medical law . In Bolam, McNair J ar......(short extract) to download the full answer, please Sign in or Register then make a payment or submit an essay

Question: ‘In establishing the standard of professional conduct that ought be reasonably adopted by doctors, common law does little more than articulate standards adopted by doctors themselves, it does not impose those of its own.’
Discuss the accuracy of this statement.

Answer: This statement is concerned with the discussion of standard of care. An important point to note when discussing standard of care is that, the standard to which a doctor will be judged is not going to be the same as that of the ordinary reasonable man, who has no expertise in medicine. A doctor is under a duty to conform to the ordinary standards of the profession. Legally this has been defined in ......(short extract) to download the full answer, please Sign in or Register then make a payment or submit an essay

Question: The English courts only pretend to respect patient autonomy. In any difficult case, the judges prefer the doctors’ judgement of the patient’s best interests.’ Discuss.

Answer: Self governance or autonomy fundamentally depends on the capacity to make ones own decisions. Mentally competent people are said to enjoy the right to autonomy, not least in their own health and treatment of illness. When a conflict of interest arises between how someone would have themselves treated and how they have been treated, the courts may be called upon, either to stop a treatment proceedi......(short extract) to download the full answer, please Sign in or Register then make a payment or submit an essay

Question: \'The Principle of respect for patient autonomy has attained too much importance in English medical law; the rights and interests of parties other than the patient should be better accounted for.\'

Discuss, with reference to the law governing confidentiality and the treatment of incompetent patients.

Answer: The central issue of this essay appears to be the concept of consent and thus I will examine the different ways of giving your consent in differing situations. I will start by giving a brief outline on the conditions for competent adults to give consent to treatment and analyse the extent to which this group makes an autonomous decision. I will then go on to analyse the law surrounding incompetent......(short extract) to download the full answer, please Sign in or Register then make a payment or submit an essay

Question: Discuss the different interpretations of \'the Bolam test\' (see Bolam v Friern Hospital Management Committee [1957] 2 All ER 118). Critically evaluate the impact of the Bolam test in relation to key cases, particularly with reference to the Bolitho case. (see Bolitho v City and Hackney Health Authority [1997] 4 All ER 771; or [1998] AC 232).

Answer: Throughout human history the amount of situations arising out of peoples careless or negligent acts is parallel and inevitably adjoined with man\'s development and evolution. This tragicomical realisation is addressed via the common law of negligence, the principles of which date back at an almost ancient time. The law of negligence is a well-established course of action and enjoys a dominant role......(short extract) to download the full answer, please Sign in or Register then make a payment or submit an essay

Question: Would A No Fault Regime be Better than the Current Negligence-Based System of Compensating Victims of Medical Accidents?

Answer: The current system of compensating victims of medical accidents is based on ‘tort law’ and proof of ‘negligence’. Tort law “concerns compensable wrongs that do not arise from a breach of contract and cannot be remedied by an injuction against future interference.” (Cooter and Ulen, 2000, p288). Therefore, tort law applies in instances where the transaction costs of creating a cont......(short extract) to download the full answer, please Sign in or Register then make a payment or submit an essay

Question: The Law of Medical Negligence

Answer: One case has overshadowed medical negligence for over 40 years, Bolam v Friern Barnet Hospital Management Committee set the rules which medical negligence claimants have struggled against ever since. However, recent developments in English law have eased the task of claimants to a certain extent. From the \'doctor knows best\' approach adopted in cases following Bolam, where expert evidence that ......(short extract) to download the full answer, please Sign in or Register then make a payment or submit an essay

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Medical Law

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