Wood v North Durham Acute Hospitals NHS Trust

Permission to appeal should be granted where the proposed appeal raises a properly arguable issue requiring consideration by the full court, even though the judge granting permission cannot make a precise assessment of the prospects of success.

In a medical negligence appeal, the arguable issues included the relationship between textbook evidence and expert opinion, and the application of the Bolam and Bolitho principles to the assessment of professional standards.

The claimant, a child with severe cerebral palsy, brought a medical negligence claim arising from her breech delivery at the defendant’s hospital. The High Court, before Mrs Justice Hallett, entered judgment for the defendant on 24 January 2001.

The proposed appeal concerned whether the doctors should have ensured delivery within ten minutes after delivery of the umbilicus, and whether the judge had properly evaluated conflicting expert evidence and textbook material. The application before the Court of Appeal was whether permission to appeal should be granted.

1. Permission granted. The Court of Appeal granted permission to appeal and ordered that the costs of the application be costs in the case.
2. It was unnecessary at the permission stage to assess the prospects of success with precision. The hearing itself demonstrated that there was sufficient substance for the parties to argue about.
3. The appeal warranted consideration by the full court because it required careful analysis of the expert evidence, including the context and precise effect of the experts’ statements. It also raised an arguable issue concerning the treatment of textbook evidence in comparison with expert opinion, with reference to Loveday v Renton and Wellcome Foundation Ltd, [1990] 1 Med LR 117.
4. The proposed appeal further involved argument about the precise effect of statements concerning expert evidence and the application of the Bolam and Bolitho principles. The Court of Appeal did not determine those substantive issues at the permission hearing.

• Court of Appeal (Civil Division): Permission to appeal from the High Court was granted. The costs of the application were ordered to be costs in the case.
• High Court, Queen’s Bench Division: Mrs Justice Hallett entered judgment for the defendant on 24 January 2001 in the medical negligence claim.