Legal Disputes over Duties to Disclose Treatment Risks to Patients: A Review of Negligence Claims and Complaints in Australia

摘要

The 1972 case of Canterbury v Spence [1] ranks among the best-known court decisions in American and international health law. Mr Canterbury, a 19-year-old typist for the Federal Bureau of Investigation, became paraplegic and incontinent following spinal surgery. He sued, alleging that the surgeon, Dr Spence, had failed in his duty to outline the risks of this outcome. Dr Spence countered that he owed no duty to warn of such an unexpected complication. The enduring significance of the case lies in the decision by the District of Columbia Court of Appeals to reject the traditional customary standard for assessing negligence (what would a reasonable practitioner have done?), and opt instead for a new patient-centered standard (what would a reasonable patient want to know?).