From Bolam to Bolitho: unravelling medical protectionism

Legal standard of care: a shift from the traditional Bolam test.

An essential component of an action in negligence against a doctor is proof that the doctor failed to provide the required standard of care under the circumstances. Traditionally the standard of care in law has been determined according to the Bolam test. This is based on the principle that a doctor does not breach the legal standard of care, and is therefore not negligent, if the practice is s...

The role of clinical guidelines in medical negligence litigation: has India made the shift?

India has been following English law for certain principles that are well developed in common law. On the issue of medical negligence, India had adopted the principle laid down in the Bolam case which held that a doctor is not negligent if what he has done would be endorsed by a responsible body of medical opinion in the relevant specialty at the material time. This was followed until 2001 when...

Consent and the chain of causation and quantum.

It is almost fifty years since Mr Bolam was injured when receiving ECT and he unsuccessfully sued the hospital for damages. However, while the world and Medicine have moved on, the principles set out by McNair J in his clear and simple direction to the jury are still in force today (though with a little gloss and froth added by successive judgments). In a nutshell, a doctor is not negligent if ...

Unravelling the Pathogenesis of Severe COVID-19 Pneumonia: Are There Possible Insights From High Altitude?

Testing the Bolam Test: consequences of recent developments.

A. INTRODUCTION The Bolam Test is a familiar concept to most doctors – it is the measure of whether one has discharged his or her standard of care in the management of the patient. It is not a test which applies only to doctors; it applies to all professionals. This test was developed through a series of English cases culminating in Bolam v Friern Hospital Management Committee (1957) 1 WLR 582....