ABSTRACT
The study of medical negligence is about the legal consequences where a medical professional treats a patient negligently. The role of the criminal law in cases of medical negligence is extremely limited and will only be relevant where the negligent act is so gross that it should be deemed to be criminal. Whilst the action failed for reasons concerning causation was held that even though the doctor had not seen the men, he still owed them a duty of care. Under the second limb of the Bolam test, however, all the defendant had to do to successfully defend a claim in negligence was to demonstrate that there exists a responsible body of medical opinion which accepts his conduct as reasonable. Despite the seemingly impregnable position that the decision in Bolam put defendants in medical negligence claims into, there was some limited evidence that the courts would be willing to challenge expert opinion.
