Scope of duty in clinical negligence (Khan v Meadows)

Article summary

PI & Clinical Negligence analysis: On Friday, 18 June 2021, a panel of seven justices of the Supreme Court unanimously dismissed the claimant’s appeal in the matter of Khan v Meadows. The decision was handed down along with that in Manchester Building Society v Grant Thornton UK LLP which should be read in conjunction. Both cases were concerned with the application of the scope of duty principle, summarised in the earlier case of Banque Bruxelles Lambert SA v Eagle Star Insurance Co Ltd; South Australia Asset Management Corp v York Montague Ltd, but the case of Khan is a rare example of the principle being applied to a claim for clinical negligence. In Khan, the court held that losses arising from a second, unrelated, medical condition, upon which the defendant’s advice was not sought, were irrecoverable as they fell outside the scope of the defendant’s duty of care. The judgment demonstrates the importance of first establishing the nature of the...