The workman plaintiff suffered from a congenital defect; he had an extra thumb in his right hand. He met with an industrial accident and fractured the false thumb. It was treated by splinting but he continued to be in pain. He was then sent to the hospital where it was discovered that the fracture had not united. He was advised that an operation was required to remove not just the false thumb, but also the top joint of the normal thumb. The result of this operation was unsatisfactory as it left him with a tender stump which rendered him fit for light work only. He applied for compensation on the ground of this incapacity.
Held: (Majority) The incapacity was not the result of the injury which was caused by the industrial accident.
Whether a chain of causation had been broken was a question of fact. It was ‘axiomatic’ that later negligence by a doctor (so in principle, presumably anyone’s later negligence) would amount to a ‘new cause’ and so break the chain of causation flowing from the original accident. Lord Reid (dissenting) said that a ‘grave lack of skill or care on the part of the doctor’ treating an injury could amount to a novus actus interveniens.
The question of the effect of a novus actus ‘can only be answered on a consideration of all the circumstances and, in particular, the quality of that later act or event’.
Lord Reid said that not only must the new cause come in but the old must go out; there must no longer be any cause or connection between the injury by accident and the present incapacity
Judges:
Lord Simonds, Lord Normand, Lord Reid
Citations:
[1949] 1 All ER 588
Jurisdiction:
England and Wales
Cited by:
Cited – Rahman v Arearose Limited and Another, University College London, NHS Trust CA 15-Jun-2000
The claimant had suffered a vicious physical assault from which the claimant’s employers should have protected him, and an incompetently performed surgical operation. Three psychiatrists agreed that the aetiology of the claimant’s very severe . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.
Damages, Negligence
Updated: 29 April 2022; Ref: scu.189972