Our aim in this article is to provide a counterbalance to the substantial body of academic opinion supportive of the decision in the medical non-disclosure case of Chester v Afshar [2004] UKHL 41, [2005] 1 AC 134, while at the same time identifying 87 (Lord Hope). Lord Steyn, Lord Hope and Lord Walker held that the "but for" test was satisfied, so far as Miss Chester was concerned. Chester v. Afshar: Stepping Further Away from Causation? This case comment seeks to demonstrate the boldness of the decision in distancing itself from established case law orthodoxy and its skillful handling of the relevant concepts. Stapleton cites Chester (C.A.) 28. The [5], Fairchild v. Glenhaven Funeral Services Ltd, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Chester_v_Afshar&oldid=946002077, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, This page was last edited on 17 March 2020, at 13:18. See also Beary v The court concludes by asking " If the established principles of causation are to be abandoned, what is to take their place? " Peter Causton, " Professional Negligence: Causation Effect (2005) Peter Causton Perry, supra note 77. Dr Afshar had therefore violated her right to choose. H��W�r�6����� �}�8��j}�8����DBb�TAR�����Ф�$ng2~�H{�r�,�vq�Y�1�Y�bBgG!�?�&Go.B��G�X���~�,ȫ��d�����3�,-�+j>�h�~o~�ͼ�43��.1��RZ�țJ(��A�����0����ۏ������;�`,Q�,N�1�0�M#��aS�c��ib�߾���oo> �����������'W�������������eh�G1�O��(J}������==��;�?��c�C�6��4rT@$F=h���t#�Nj��՝lwM]ʺ���Z��?F��M See also 142 and 144 (Lord Rodger). Gregg, supra note 54 at paras. 45 (Lord All content in this area was uploaded by Lara Khoury on Oct 16, 2014, breach of contractual duty and negligence against the defendant doctor, Montreal, and member of the Institute of Comparativ, can cause pain in the lower back and upper buttocks, lack of feeling in the b. as well as disturbances of bowel and bladder function. 172. Rivers Authority) v. Empress Car Co. (Abertillery) Ltd., [1999] 2 A.C. 22 at 29F. It was therefore suggested that had she been informed she would have had the surgery at another time, which would probably not have led to the unfortunate r… In Chester v Afshar itself, Lord Hope argued that the claim should fail on what he called ‘conventional causal principles’, because although the but-for test was satisfied, the inherent risk which had materialized ‘was not increased, nor were the chances of avoiding it lessened’ by the defendant’s failure to disclose it. supra note 6 at para. 66 We have elsewhere criticised this justification for relaxing the rules of causation: L. Khoury, Uncertain at paras. 78 and 85. In Bonnington Castings Ltd v. Wardlaw, for example, the House of Lords held that in certain circumstances a claimant need only prove that the defendant's act materially contributed to his damage, and in McGhee v. National Coal Board their Lordships went even further and allowed a claimant to succeed when he could show only that the defendant had materially increased the risk of damage. intrinsic value which is worthy of legal protection. perfectly adequate in cases in which there is just one potential cause in the hands of a single defendant, is too simplistic to cater for more complicated situations involving multiple potential causes and/or more than one wrongdoer. been taken would be modified by the plaintif. But, in the ordinary run of cases, satisfying the "but for" test is a necessary if not a sufficient condition of establishing causation. of Chester v Afshar A. They now present particular challenges for the courts because of their proliferation and the evasive nature of their causes. Lord Bingham felt that even though Dr Afshar had been found not to have informed Miss Chester about the 1–2% risk of surgery failure, this did not mean that causation had been shown. Chester v Afshar [2004] UKHL 41 is an important English tort law case regarding causation in a medical negligence context. It allows us to lead our lives rather than be led along them, so that each of us can be, to the extent a scheme of rights can make this possible, what we have made of ourselves. The usual touchstone is the "but-for" test, under which liability is established only if it can be shown that the claimant's damage would not have occurred but-for the defendant's negligence. One of the key requirements for a successful action in negligence is the ability of the claimant to prove that the defendant caused his damage. Lord Bingham stated of the rules of causation generally, It is now, I think, generally accepted that the "but for" test does not provide a comprehensive or exclusive test of causation in the law of tort. The baby plaintiff, born premature, suffered from retrolental fibroplasias which could have been caused, The House of Lords answered through reliance on the. supra note 2 at para. Stapleton cites Chester (C.A.) 1511. at 418-419. Ms. Chester was therefore left partially paralyzed. It has, however, long been recognised that this test, while, Nosocomial infections have been a reality since the origin of medicine and have been the object of judicial decisions for a long time. ��QnU�0.Y:�o��jOʬ���S�B*{. at paras. The judge found that there was a causal connection between the failure to inform and Miss Chester's injuries—if she had been informed, she would have sought further advice or alternatives. at para. All rights reserved. of torts an unsuitable vehicle for distrib, that where justice and policy demand it, a modification of causation principles is “not beyond the wit of, It was not increased, and the chances of av. Chester v Afshar [2004] 3 WLR 927. Dans son jugement, la majorité de la Cour d'appel base une in-férence quant à la causalité médicale sur le seul fondement d'une donnée statistique, justifiant cet allègement de preuve par le fait que les défendeurs ont, par leur faute, empê-ché les demandeurs de prouver la causalité. This paper comments on the judicial treatment of the uncertainty that often surrounds the causes of infections contracted in the healthcare setting. The Lawyer 24 (7 Feb 2005), Perry, supra note 77. Le 5 décembre 2014, la Cour d'appel du Québec rendait une décision majeure, St-Germain c Benhaim, 2014 QCCA 2207. See also similarly para. Lord Steyn emphasised his view by quoting Ronald Dworkin. 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