The Victorian Coroner was recently required to consider whether the death of a child was due to an anaphylactic reaction suffered whilst an in-patient or whether the death arose due to the management of the anaphylaxis.

In our blog on 19 May 2018 we reported on a decision in which an orthopaedic surgeon and anaesthetist were both found negligent for failing to abandon surgery prior to the plaintiff suffering paraplegia.  

On 14 February 2018 the Health Legislation Amendment Bill 2018 (https://www.legislation.nsw.gov.au/bills/2994c40b-79ef-46a5-b38f-74a427979fe2) was passed by both House of Parliament.

There has been reporting in the mainstream media this week of Monday’s IT failure which led to approximately 1200 doctors sitting their basic training exam with the Royal Australian College of Physicians being shut down due to a technical fault.

The Clinical Manager of a Hospital, applied to The NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal for approval to conduct a clinical trial, a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled study to investigate the efficacy and safety of cannabidiol (CBD) which is an add-on therapy in the treatment of tuberous sclerosis complex (TSC) (GWP42003-P Trial) [2017] NSWCATGD 30. 

In a recent WA case the plaintiff alleged that the Hospital breached its duty of care to her by failing to recognise that she was suffering from evolving and detectable sepsis, and to commence antibiotic treatment in a timely manner. The Court was only asked to make a finding as to liability.

Recommendations have been made in the coronial jurisdiction following an inquest into the death of a patient in a declared mental health inpatient unit.

Medical manslaughter has come into the spotlight in the last week following the recent decision in England to deregister a medical practitioner after she was found guilty of manslaughter in 2015.

A medical specialist has been prosecuted for professional misconduct and had their registration suspended after forging consent forms for over 30 patients.

Whilst not medical negligence claims, we draw your attention to three recent District Court of NSW decisions of Her Honour, Gibson DCJ concerning applications for approval of infant settlements (Saleh by his tutor Abusaleh v Li [2017] NSWDC 305; Kandil by his tutor Kandil v Halliday [2017] NSWDC 327; and Tartak by her tutor Tartak v Zada [2017] NSWDC 330).

In a recent decision, the Guardianship Division of the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal (the Tribunal) were asked to determine whether Calvary Health Care (Newcastle) Limited (CHCN) had the necessary standing to apply for a guardianship order in relation to a patient. The same issues were considered in a decision by the Tribunal earlier this year in relation to whether a Local Health District had standing to make such an application (NEJ [2017] NSWCATGD 1). We reported on that decision in our blog in February 2017.

The NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal (the Tribunal) was asked to review a decision made by The Charles Sturt University (the University) in relation to its refusal to allow the applicant access to an investigation report sought pursuant to the Government Information (Public Access) Act 2009 (the GIPA application).

A plaintiff sought orders from the Supreme Court that the defendant answer additional interrogatories in a matter that was listed for hearing in a few days.