1. I am thinking in particular of the appellate cases which have addressed such questions as consent to treatment, the lawfulness of treatment for incompetent patients and/or children, withdrawal of treatment, access to health records, and confidentiality. See, for example,Sidaway vBethlem Royal Hospital Governors [1985] AC 871;Gillick v West Norfolk & Wisbech Area Health Authority [1986] AC 112;Re R (a minor)(wardship: medical treatment) [1991] 4 All ER 177;Re W (a minor)(medical treatment) [1992] 3 WLR 758;Re T (Adult: Refusal of Medical Treatment) [1992] 3 WLR 782;F vWest Berkshire Health Authority [1990] 2 AC 1;Airedale NHS Trust vBland [1993] 1 All ER 821;R v Mid-Glamorgan Family Health Services Authority, ex parte Martin [1995] 1 All ER 356;W v Egdell [1990] 1 All ER 835.
2. See the Harvard Medical Practice Study to the State of New York:Patients, Doctors and Lawyers: Medical Injury, Malpractice Litigation and Patient Compensation in New York, 1990.
3. See Hoyte, P., “Unsound Practice: The Epidemiology of Medical Negligence” (1995) 3 Med L Rev 53, 68. This article provides a detailed analysis of claims settled by the Medical Defence Union in 1989
4. Ham, C., Dingwall, R., Fenn, P., Harris, D.,Medical Negligence: Compensation and Accountability (1988) King’s Fund Institute, p. 11.
5. Hoyte, P., “Medical Negligence Litigation, Claims Handling and Risk Management” (1994) 1 Med Law Int 261.