McCarthy v Kidd [2001] NSWCA 304

New South Wales Court of Appeal

CITATION : McCarthy v Kidd [2001] NSWCA 304 FILE NUMBER(S) : CA 40871/00 HEARING DATE(S) : 21 August 2001 JUDGMENT DATE : 12 September 2001

Barbara Ann McCarthy (Appellant) PARTIES : Iain Harrison Kidd (First Respondent) Hunter Area Health Service (Second Respondent) JUDGMENT OF : Powell JA at 1; Heydon JA at 2; Studdert J at 3

LOWER COURT JURISDICTION : District Court LOWER COURT DC 4717/99 FILE NUMBER(S) : LOWER COURT Rolfe DCJ JUDICIAL OFFICER :

COUNSEL : Mr S G Campbell (under pro bono scheme) (Appellant) Mr J P Gormly (Respondents) SOLICITORS : Appellant litigant in person Tress Cocks & Maddox (Respondents) CATCHWORDS : Torts - Negligence - Medical Negligence - Failure to warn - Role of medical evidence from specific practitioners in relation to Court's own assessment of necessity for warning and content of warning - Subjective and hypothetical nature of question as to whether patient would have heeded warning - Torts- Negligence - Medical Negligence - Causation - Appeal from trial judge's finding that no causation proved - Whether iron injections caused gluteal fibrosis - Where medical evidence was controversial - Where the trial judge observed the plaintiff give evidence and found her to be a poor historian - ND Bolam v Friern Hospital Management Committee (1957) 1 WLR 582; (1957) 2 All ER 118 Chappel v Hart (1998) 195 CLR 232 CASES CITED: Devries v Australian National Railways Commission (1992-93) 177 CLR 472 Rogers v Whitaker (1992) 175 CLR 479 Rosenberg v Percival (2001) 178 ALR 577 Sidaway v Governors of Bethlem Royal Hospital (1985) AC 871 DECISION : Appeal dismissed with costs