Defendants Successful In Secondary Victim Appeals

• Published date: 10 February 2022
• Subject Matter: Litigation, Mediation & Arbitration, Trials & Appeals & Compensation, Personal Injury, Professional Negligence
• Law Firm: Gatehouse Chambers
• Author: Mr Charles Bagot QC

Paul v Royal Wolverhampton NHS; Polmear v Royal Cornwall NHS; & Purchase v Dr Ahmed [2022] EWCA Civ 12

The Court of Appeal (Sir Geoffrey Vos MR, Underhill LJ and Nicola Davies LJ) has handed down judgment in these conjoined appeals about how proximity is interpreted in secondary victim cases, particularly those arising out of clinical negligence.

In all three appeals, the Claimants had suffered psychiatric injury after witnessing the death of a close relative due to earlier clinical negligence in failing to diagnose the primary victim's life-threatening condition.

The Paul case concerned claims by children who had witnessed the death of their father from a heart attack in the street, 14 months after he had been discharged from hospital (negligently it was argued) after investigations into chest pains.

At first instance, the Defendant was successful, before Master Cook, in striking out the claims: [2019] EWHC 2893. The Court found that in light of the decisions of Auld J, in 1993, in Taylor v Somerset Health Authority and the Court of...