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Bolam v Friern Hospital Management Committee (1957)
I. Core Principle: The Bolam Test
I. Core Principle: The Bolam Test
- Definition: A doctor is not negligent if they act in accordance with a practice accepted as proper by a responsible body of medical professionals skilled in that particular area, even if other doctors hold a different view.
- In essence: If a doctor's actions align with a respectable body of medical opinion, they are not negligent, even if alternative approaches exist.
- Plaintiff: A patient suffering from depression.
- Treatment: Electro-convulsive therapy (ECT).
- Negligence Allegations:
- Failure to administer muscle relaxant.
- Failure to provide adequate manual restraint.
- Failure to warn of the risk of bone fracture.
- Outcome: Patient suffered bilateral hip fractures.
- Key Point: Expert opinion was divided on whether muscle relaxants/restraints were necessary, and whether warnings should be given.
- Verdict: The High Court jury found the defendants not liable for negligence.
- McNair J's Direction to the Jury (The Bolam Test): The core of the case lies in this direction, solidifying the principle that adherence to a responsible body of medical opinion is a defense against negligence.
- Wide Acceptance: The Bolam test has been widely accepted and applied in numerous subsequent cases, including those heard in the House of Lords.
- Areas of Application:
- Diagnosis: Maynard v West Midlands RHA (1984)
- Treatment: Whitehouse v Jordan (1981)
- Disclosure of Information: Sidaway v Board of Governors of the Bethlem Royal Hospital and the Maudsley Hospital (1985)
- Causation: Bolitho v City and Hackney HA(1997
- Bolam provides a legal standard for determining medical negligence. It acknowledges that medicine is not an exact science and allows for differing but responsible medical opinions.
- The test focuses on the reasonableness of the doctor's actions, not necessarily the best possible outcome. If the doctor acted in accordance with a respectable body of medical opinion, they are protected from liability.
- The "responsible body of medical men" must be a reasonable and respectable body of opinion. It can't be a fringe view.
- Bolam does not give doctors carte blanche. It's not enough to simply find any doctor who agrees with their actions. The opinion must be responsibly held within the profession.
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