As 2021 draws to a close, we review some of the key decisions over the last eleven months which impact healthcare and those who provide indemnity to this sector.

The topic of vicarious liability continues to evolve especially when considered alongside the issue of a non-delegable duty of care in the health setting. Read our top tips on how to deal with this issue.

Welcome to the autumn edition of our Clinical Law Insight. Hospital-acquired Covid-19 infections have been a more significant cause of death than previously appreciated. We consider how you can prepare for claims and for the Public Inquiry due in 2022.

Lack of regulation of non-surgical aesthetic treatments has long been the subject of considerable debate. Now that the APPG has published its report into advanced aesthetic non-surgical cosmetic treatments, will we see changes in the sector?

A clinician’s liability to a patient remains limited to the losses falling within the duty of care and not any wider co-incidental losses. The Supreme Court today ruled the scope of duty test generally was applicable to clinical negligence cases.

A joint report prepared by Getting It Right First Time (GIRFT) and NHS Resolution, looking at how claims data can be used effectively to prevent future claims, has been released today.

The Paterson Inquiry reviewed how Ian Paterson had been able to practise in this way across both the NHS and private sector and with a view to identifying systemic improvements to ensure that patients are properly protected and compensated.

Welcome to the latest edition of our Clinical Law Insight, in which we report on the latest appeal decisions, medico-legal and ethical issues arising from Covid-19, as well as new reports on safety and learning.

In this year’s forward view, we consider issues ranging from the practicalities of future court hearings in a pandemic to resource arguments that will have to be considered in claims as well as key decisions in the year ahead.

Remote hearings and medical examinations by video have enabled litigation to progress during the pandemic.

Patients who have had their treatment for a particular condition delayed due to COVID-19 restricting hospital resources may consider legal action in the future.

The last year has seen a rapid acceleration in the use of remote electronic consultations. Clear benefits to clinicians and patients coupled with pressure on resources mean that we are unlikely to go back to the way things were before.