Rufo v Hosking [2004] NSWCA 391

Reported Decision : 61 NSWLR 678

New South Wales Court of Appeal

CITATION : Rufo v Hosking [2004] NSWCA 391 HEARING DATE(S) : 20 May 2004 JUDGMENT DATE : 1 November 2004

JUDGMENT OF : Hodgson JA at 1; Santow JA at 14; Campbell AJA at 56 DECISION : Appeal allowed with costs.

CATCHWORDS : TORT - Medical negligence - recoverability for loss of a less than 50% chance of avoiding spinal microfractures suffered in course of heavy-dosage treatment with corticosteroids against Lupus - breaches of duty of care by specialist paediatrician in substituting one corticosteroid for another so causing a heavier than the appropriate dosage and in failing to introduce a steroid sparer at the appropriate stage - more probable than not that even without these breaches microfractures would have occurred but appellant still lost a material chance that but for the negligence the fractures would not have occurred, or would not have occurred at the time or with their severity - comparison of all or nothing approach in causation and damages - causation issues - inapplicability to this situation of UK Fairchild approach to causation - relevance of expert evidence - difficulty of quantifying the lost chance - chance must be material and not speculative - relevance of possible pre-existing celiac condition in contributing to susceptibility to fractures and questions of evidentiary onus - observations on permissibility of loss of chance approach in medical negligence cases. Bennett v Minister of Community Welfare (1992) 176 CLR 408 Betts v Whittingslowe (1945) 71 CLR 637 Birkholz v R J Gilbertson Pty Ltd (1985) 38 SASR 121 Bonnington Castings Ltd v Wardlow [1956] AC 613 Chaplin v Hicks [1911] 2 KB 786 Chappel v Hart (1998) 195 CLR 232 Commonwealth v McLean (1996) 41 NSWLR 389 Daniels v. Anderson (1995) 37 NSWLR 438 Diamond v Simpson (No 3) [2003] NSWCA 373 E.M. Baldwin & Son Pty Ltd v Plane (1998) 17 NSWCCR 434 Fairchild v Glenhaven Funeral Services Ltd [2003] 1 AC 32 Gavalas v Singh [2001] 3 VR 404 Gregg v Scott [2002] EWCA civ 1471 Hotson v. East Berkshire Area Health Authority [1987] AC 750 Jorgenson v Vener, 616 NW2d 366 (SD SC, 2000) Laferrière v Lawson [1991] 1 SCR 541 Malec v. J.C. Hutton Pty. Ltd. (1990) 169 CLR 638 CASES CITED : March v E & M H Stramare Pty Ltd (1991) 171 CLR McGhee v National Coal Board [1973] 1 W.L.R. 1 Millett v McMonagle [1970] AC 166 (HL) Naxakis v. Western General Hospital (1999) 197 CLR 269 Purkess v Crittenden (1965) 114 CLR 164 Roberts v Ohio Permanente Med Group, Inc, 668 NE 2d 480 (Ohio SC, 1996) Rogers v Whitaker (1992) 175 CLR 479 Sellars v. Adelaide Petroleum NL (1994) 179 CLR 332 Seltsam Pty. Ltd. v. McGuiness (2000) 49 NSWLR 262 Shorey v PT Ltd (2003) 77 ALJR 1104 Sutherland Shire Council v Heyman (1984-5) 157 CLR 424 TC v The State of New South Wales & Ors [2001] NSWCA 380 The Commonwealth v Amann Aviation Pty Ltd (1991) 174 CLR 64 Tran v Lam NSWSC, 9 February 1995, unreported BC 9504451 Wallaby Grip (Bae) Pty Limited (in liq) v Macleay Area Health Service (1998) 17 NSWCCR 355 Watts v Rake (1960) 108 CLR 158 Watts v Rake and Shorey v PT Ltd (2003) 77 ALJR 1104 Wilsher v Essex Area Health Authority [1988] AC 1074 PARTIES : Michelle RUFO (Appellant) Dr C S HOSKING (Respondent) FILE NUMBER(S) : CA 40125/03 COUNSEL : P BRERETON, SC/ DR K SANT (Appellant) D HIGGS, QC/ J LONERGAN (Respondent) SOLICITORS : Kells the Lawyers (Appellant) Ebsworth & Ebsworth (Respondent)