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Case 8

Barnett v. Chelsea HMC (Dimond, 1999 p 104)

3 night watchmen drank tea which made them vomit. They went to the casualty department of a local hospital. The casualty duty doctor, on being told of the complaints by a nurse, did not see the men, but told them to go home & call in their own doctors. Some hours later one of them died from arsenical poisoning.

Does the casualty duty doctor owe the patients a duty of care?

Is the casualty duty doctor negligent?

Answer