By agreeing to take a patient, a doctor assumes
responsibility for both what he does and what he doesn't do
Barnett v Chelsea and Kensington hospital
management
Duty of care begins when the patient enters
casualty
Bolam v Friern Hospital management comittee
Professionals test
A professional has breached their duty of care
if they fall below the standard of care expected
of a reasonable professional and if there is a
responsible body of opinion in disagreement
with their decisions
Bolitho v City and Hackney health authority
Bolam test only applies if it is logical to do so
When judging the Standard of care of
a doctor, a court should consider the
state of medical knowledge at the time
of the events of the case rather than at
the time of the trial