$6.7m med neg appeal allowed against G.P

Further to my earlier post – the Court of Appeal upheld the appeal of the plaintiff (McMurdo P and Boddice J with Applegarth J dissenting) because:

There was evidence of restriction of movement of the neck, which if the G.P exercised reasonable care and skill, warranted a physical examination, and if undertaken ought to have resulted in a referral to a specialist;
The defence available under s 22 of the Civil Liability Act 2003 did not apply because Drs Kable and Turnbull did not express an opinion based on the facts as found. Furthermore per Boddice J – in circumstances where the failure was to examine and refer to a specialist, sub-section 5 had no operation.

David Cormack – Brisbane Barrister & Mediator