SCHNEIDER V. ROBERTSON & ORS. 2/1940

Ao 2 LPO Ko

| IN THE HIGH COURT OF AUSTRALIA.

__SGRNETOER.

ROBERTSON & ORS.

REASONS FOR JUDGMENT.

Judgment delivered at_ SYDNEY 2 Grea, Gor, Pray Me. on 21st August, TIO. Hf

srt

at FR eit

SCHNEIDER

ve

ROBERTSON & OTHERS

Order : ,

Appeal allowed. Order of the Supreme Court set

aside. Verdict of the jury and the judgment entered

thereon. restored. The defendants to pay the costs of

this appeal and of the appeal to the Supreme Court.

CHN ve

ROBERTSON

I

&

E

OTHERS

LUDGMENT

aid

SCHNEIDER ___V. ROBERTSON & OTHERS

By the order under appeal the Suprame Court (Davidson, Halse Rogers & Street JJ.) set aside a verdict recovered by the plaintiff in an action of negligence agains' a partnership of three medical practitioners and entered judgment for the defendants. The order was made

reasonable

upon the ground that there was no/evidence of any negligent act or omission for which tnebetendante were responsible contributing to the injury of which the plaintiff complains. That injury is an X-ray burn. The defendants practice

their profession at Albury and the plaintiff, a married

woman living in the neighbourhood, was one of their lodge

patients. At Albury theYe is a District Hospital

oe eee .) 21937 —— governed by the Public Hospitals Act 1929/and the regulatiane

ved §

thereunder. ( See secs. 18 & 42, 2ni Sched. and %.S.W. Rakes | and Regulations 1930 p. 246 ) | The regulations allew any duky qualified medical practitioner to render services to his maktumkx private and intermediate patients in such a hospital. For over two years the Albury District

Hospital had been equipped with a small X-ray machine,

which could be used for radiography or for fluoroscopy.

There was no radiologist upon tke hospital staff and no

technician with a competent knowledge of the apparatus,

but the matron awd a sister were instructed in its use and