The GP doctor appealed against a finding that she had a duty of care to the respondent in her claim for professional neglience in failing to diagnose breast cancer.
Held: The appeal failed. There is a distinction between a truthful witness and an accurate witness: ‘It is commonplace for a trial judge, and HHJ Gosnell, the DCJ of a busy court centre, is an especially experienced one, to conclude that he has not heard witnesses who failed to tell the truth in the sense that they deliberately lied. Rather, as here, he heard honest, that is, not untruthful, witnesses, whose recollections he did not accept as correct or accurate. Once he had decided that no witness was lying he correctly identified his task as ‘to decide the issues on the balance of probability remembering that the Claimant has the burden of proof’. He rehearsed the arguments supportive of each party’s case, explained his findings as to two clinical notes, and, having assessed the likelihood or otherwise of the competing cases, gave his reasons for finding as a fact ‘that there was a consultation with [the Appellant] in February or March 2006 at which the [Respondent] complained of a small pea-sized lump in her breast. There was an examination of the [Respondent] and she was told that the cause was likely to be a blocked milk duct’.’
Judges:
Rafferty DBE LJ, Mann Jm Dame Janet Smith DBE
Citations:
[2012] EWCA Civ 347
Links:
Jurisdiction:
England and Wales
Cited by:
Cited – Merthyr Tydfil Car Auction Ltd v Thomas and Another CA 11-Jul-2013
The company appealed against an award of 9,000 pounds for nuisance in the form of excessive noise and fumes.
Held: The appeal failed: ‘the grant of planning permission cannot authorise the commission of a nuisance but it may, following its . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.
Professional Negligence, Evidence
Updated: 05 October 2022; Ref: scu.452194