Abstract
The House of Lords in Chester v. Afshar [2004] UKHL 41, [2004] 3 W.L.R, 927, by a 3-2 majority, has upheld the Court of Appeal's decision, which extended the principles of causation in medical nondisclosure cases. The claimant, who had long suffered back pain, underwent spinal surgery by the defendant, a highly regarded neurosurgeon who negligently failed to inform her of a 1-2% risk of paralysis. The risk materialized and the issue was whether causation of damage could be established. This depended on what the claimant would have done had she been warned of the risk. If she would have avoided the procedure or sought alternative treatment, it could be argued that the failure to inform caused the claimant to be exposed to the risk and consequently the injury that resulted (cf. McAllister v. Lewisham and North Southwark Health Authority (1994) 5 Med. L. Rev. 343).
Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
