Shooting from the hip—Legal crossfire over severe brain damage during private hip operation (Bartolomucci v Circle Health Group)
PI & Clinical Negligence analysis: The claimant sustained severe brain damage during a hip operation carried out by independent consultants at a private hospital and sued the private hospital for breach of contract in respect of the consultant’s alleged negligence. The court held that, on proper analysis of the terms of the contract, the scope of the contract between the private hospital and the claimant did not encompass the private hospital providing the consultants’ services; these were provided by the consultants directly to the patient and so the private hospital was not liable for breach of contract for any failure in the standard of care provided by the consultants. This is a rare and important decision about where liability may lie when something goes wrong resulting in injury in a private hospital in England and Wales. The claimant is seeking permission to appeal from the Court of Appeal. Written by Alexander Hutton KC, barrister at Hailsham Chambers.
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