Medical Negligence and the Duty to Advise: Beyond Autonomy (Hart Studies in Private Law)

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Product Overview

• Author: Kumaralingam Amirthalingam
• Book Title: Medical Negligence and the Duty to Advise: Beyond Autonomy (Hart Studies in Private Law)
• Language: English

• Book in excellent condition. Looks unread.
• Free Uk postage

This book argues that patient autonomy and medical negligence make for strange
bedfellows. The emphasis on autonomy has distorted orthodox negligence
principles, contributing to uncertainty and angst amongst healthcare
professionals while eroding trust in the doctor-patient relationship. This
work takes the current discourse beyond autonomy – which focuses on the rights
of the patient, to agency and shared decision-making – which focus on the
relationship between doctor and patient. The core argument is built on a
review of the theoretical foundations of negligence and the philosophical
conceptions of autonomy. Provocatively, this work argues against a rights-
based approach to negligence – which can be confrontational – in favour of a
human obligations approach, which is collaborative and thus well suited to the
doctor-patient relationship. Drawing on the theoretical analysis, the book
identifies doctrinal anomalies in the duty of care, standard of care,
causation, and damage. It critically analyses landmark UK Supreme Court cases,
including Chester v Afshar, Montgomery v Lanarkshire Health Board, and
McCulloch v Forth Valley Health Board, arguing that the law is increasingly
detached from the realities of medical practice and reasonable expectations of
patients. Primarily based on UK law, the work also discusses Australian,
Canadian, and Singaporean law. The book is aimed at the medical and legal
fraternities as well as students and scholars of tort law. Doctors and lawyers
will gain fresh insights into medical negligence; scholars will find an
alternative perspective to orthodoxy with rich material to rethink theory and
doctrine in negligence.