ABSTRACT
The case of Crawford v Board of Governors of Charing Cross Hospital (1953) The Times, 8 December, is instructive on the question of the extent to which a doctor is expected to keep himself informed of major developments in practice. The lower court found that there had been no breach of duty when an operative procedure was performed resulting in paralysis, which six months previously had been the subject of a report in The Lancet suggesting that the procedure was likely to produce such paralysis. However, the Court of Appeal rejected the claim, declaring that doctors cannot be expected to read every article in the medical press. Failure to read a single article, it was said, may be excusable, but disregard of a series of warnings in the medical press could well be evidence of negligence. In the light of the volume and rapidity of development of medical knowledge, technology and techniques, it is unreasonable to expect doctors to be au fait with every possible new development. However, in the light of the ‘general competence’ of a practitioner, he would be expected to be reasonably up to date and aware of major developments in his field or which would be known by someone in his position.
