- The High Court’s judgment in P v Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust potentially represents a significant extension to the scope of liability to secondary victims of psychiatric harm.
Recovery for secondary victims of psychiatric harm is, as Lord Steyn commented in White v Chief Constable of South Yorkshire Police [1999] 1 All ER 1, ‘a patchwork quilt of distinction which [is] difficult to justify’. The recent High Court decision in P (a child, by her mother and litigation friend) and another v Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust [2020] EWHC 1415 (QB) has added a few extra layers to that quilt, particularly on questions of ‘proximity’ and what constitutes a ‘shocking event’ in the context of clinical negligence claims.
Background
On 9 November 2012, Mr P was admitted to New Cross Hospital in Wolverhampton after complaining of chest and jaw pain. He was discharged on 12 November 2012 following various tests and investigations. Over 14 months later, on 26 January 2014, he collapsed
